View ORCID ProfilePekka Martikainen professor,
Kaarina Korhonen doctoral student,
Lasse Tarkiainen university researcher
Martikainen P, Korhonen K, Tarkiainen L.
Heavy metal toxicity and mortality—association between density of heavy metal bands and cause specific hospital admissions and mortality: population based cohort study
BMJ 2021; 375 :e067633
doi:10.1136/bmj-2021-067633
Re: Heavy metal toxicity and mortality—association between density of heavy metal bands and cause specific hospital admissions and mortality: population based cohort study
Dear Editor
We welcome these new findings highlighting potential health and well-being benefits to exposure to heavy metal music and its community. There is a growing body of work that suggests that, contrary to previous assumptions, listening to heavy metal music and attending heavy metal concerts can be beneficial for mental health. For the past three years we have been running a mainly online peer support community for heavy metal fans, Heavy Metal Therapy, focused on mental health promotion for those who find heavy metal music to enhance their well-being. This includes highlighting some of the music's potential benefits for emotional processing and sense of community belonging. We see from this work a range of future research opportunities around the relationship between engagement with heavy metal music and health outcomes.
Dr Kate Quinn, Clinical Psychologist, South West Yorkshire NHS Foundation Trust
Angela Glaves, Senior Lecturer in Mental Health Nursing, Sheffield Hallam University
Heavymetaltherapy.co.uk
Relevant References:
Blott, J. (2021). High spirits: heavy metal and mental health. The Lancet Psychiatry, 8(2), 105-107.
Quinn, K. (2019). Heavy metal music and managing mental health: Heavy metal therapy. Metal Music Studies, 5(3), 419-424.
Competing interests: No competing interests