Healthcare in a Changing Climate 2025

Meanwhile, GAD often51 develops in response to prolonged stress and uncertainty. The struggle52 to find food, loss of livelihoods and forced migration due to droughts or the destruction caused by wildfires, as well as the threat of recurrence, can lead to chronic stress and anxiety, significantly contributing to the rise in GAD cases. The expected global impact of climate-related GAD is profound,53 with projected costs of $1.5 trillion and health impacts of 378 million DALYs by 2050. More specifically, in the western US, generalized anxiety disorders linked to wildfires are estimated to cost $709 billion, with 36 million DALYs. Addressing the priority unmet medical needs for PTSD and GAD offers significant potential to reduce the health and economic impacts exacerbated by climate change. The analysis shows that introducing novel prevention methods, diagnostics and treatments could prevent approximately 60% and 58% of the projected health and economic burdens linked to PTSD and GAD, respectively. For PTSD, these preventive measures could save up to 51 million DALYs and prevent $113 billion in economic losses (including $69 billion in healthcare costs). For GAD, such measures could save up to 220 million DALYs, prevent $671 billion in economic losses (including $139 billion in healthcare costs) and avert 19,000 deaths. Together, these interventions represent key opportunities for public health advancement, with targeted investment essential to realize these benefits. The impacts of various forms of PTSD and GAD prevention can be seen in the following tables:Collectively, PTSD and GAD driven by climate change are expected to cause over $1.8 trillion in costs and over 460 million DALYs by 2050 – but roughly 60% of these impacts can be prevented. PTSD prevention impact TABLE 3 Prevention type Typical measures% impact preventedDALYs preventedEconomic losses preventedDeaths averted Enhanced preventionDevelop post-trauma interventions to prevent PTSD onset31% 26 million $55 billion N/A Improved diagnosticsCreate definitive diagnostics that capture disease heterogeneity4% 4 million $13 billion N/A Novel treatments Develop improved alternatives to psychotherapy Develop scaled effective digital therapeutics25% 21 million $45 billion N/A Total 60% 51 million $113 billion N/A Source: World Economic Forum and Oliver Wyman analysis. GAD prevention impact TABLE 4 Prevention type Typical measures% impact preventedDALYs preventedEconomic losses preventedDeaths averted Enhanced preventionExplore the potential of preventive pharmacological solutions10% 37 million $112 billion 3,000 Improved diagnosticsCreate definitive diagnostics that capture disease heterogeneity15% 59 million $193 billion 5,000 Novel treatments Develop safer interventions for “treatment-resistant” GAD Develop scaled effective digital therapeutics33% 124 million $366 billion 11,000 Total 58% 220 million $671 billion 19,000 Source: World Economic Forum and Oliver Wyman analysis. Healthcare in a Changing Climate: Investing in Resilient Solutions 17