Heatwave-Related Psychiatric Consultations and Admissions in Bolzano, Italy

Daily psychiatric consultations and admissions from 2013, 2018, and 2023 in Bolzano, Italy, analyzed by Fabian M. Wedmann. The study uses time-series models to examine the relationship between heatwave duration and acute mental health service utilization.

Use Cases

• Analyze the effect of cumulative heatwave exposure on psychiatric service demand based on the cumulative heatwave index (n_hot_htwv)
• Model psychiatric service utilization patterns based on daily minimum and maximum temperature data
• Compare the predictive power of heatwave duration versus isolated temperature peaks for mental health outcomes
• Assess weekly seasonal patterns in psychiatric consultations and admissions based on the inclusion of day-of-week dummy variables

Strengths

• Data spans three non-consecutive years (2013, 2018, 2023), providing a multi-year perspective
• Analysis incorporates meteorological data from a provincial environmental agency
• Model selection and validation were performed using statistical criteria (BIC, AIC, residual diagnostics)

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment
• Geographic scope is limited to one city (Bolzano)

Provenance

Source

figshare

Collection Method

Retrospective observational analysis of emergency department and acute psychiatric ward records

Time Range

2013, 2018, 2023

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-18 05:41:21; freshness should be verified

Geography

Bolzano, Italy