Research project Warmer and darker climate: Effects on mental health and health behaviors (CLIMENT)
Photo: Rouf Bhat from Pexels.
Potential mental health effects of climate change have been stressed recently, however, the effects of reduced daylight during winter months on mental health have not been studied in Sweden.
This project will fill these gaps in evidence by using cross-sectional and longitudinal cohort data on health and health behaviors that will be linked to meteorological variables, i.e. solar radiation, precipitation and cloudiness at municipality level. We aim first to examine associations between seasonal variation in daylight intensity, i.e., solar radiation and mental health, sickness absence, and health-related behaviors. Second, we will assess the impact of temperature/thermal comfort on mental health, sickness absence, and health-related behaviors. Third, we will investigate the influence of biological and socioeconomic vulnerabilities linked to the observed associations.
The outcomes of the analyses on the vulnerability to climate related impacts in Swedish and Finnish populations will help foster equality in both societies and will highlight equality prospects of climate change.
Halonen, J. I., Horne, P., Sandman, N., Tiittanen, P., Nieminen, V., Hurttala, H., Salo, P., & Lanki, T. (2026). Symptoms of anxiety and worry about climate impacts among Finnish forest owners. Scandinavian Journal of Forest Research, 41(1), 1–10. DOI: 10.1080/02827581.2025.2554910
Nieminen, V., Partonen, T., Halonen, J. I., Hyvönen, K., Lanki, T., Raza, A., & Virtanen, M. (2025). Climate worry and mental health: the role of pro-environmental behavior and efficacy-based hope as coping strategies. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 108:102828. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102828
Raza, A., Partonen, T., Aalto, V., Ervasti, J., Ruuhela, R., Asp, M., Engström, E., Pentti, J., Vahtera, J., & Halonen, J. I. (2025). Winter-time solar radiation, precipitation, and psychotropic medication purchases: A cohort study in Finnish public sector employees. Environmental Epidemiology, 9(2): e369. DOI: 10.1097/EE9.0000000000000369
Raza, A., Partonen, T., Magnusson Hanson, L., Asp, M., Engström, E., Westerlund, H., & Halonen, J. I. (2024). Daylight during winters and symptoms of depression and sleep problems: A within-individual analysis. Environment International, 183: 108413. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108413
Raza, A., Partonen, T., Magnusson Hanson, L. L., Nieminen, V., Asp, M., Westerlund, H., & Halonen, J. I. (2026). Longitudinal associations of meteorological parameters during winter months in Sweden with self-reported symptoms of anxiety in the spring. International Journal of Biometeorology, 70:31. DOI: 10.1007/s00484-025-03098-w
