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Study: Psilocybin use surges across all age groups since 2019

Use of psilocybin, the hallucinogenic chemical found in what is known as "magic mushrooms," has increased significantly nationwide since 2019, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus and Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Safety.

21 Apr 2025

Economic downturns linked to shorter life expectancy for less-educated Americans

Fifty years of economic change have taken a heavy toll on some Americans, especially those with less education who not only have been left behind but are sicker and living shorter lives, according to new research.

18 Apr 2025

Lithium shifts circadian rhythms early in bipolar disorder and may offer clues to treatment response

A randomized controlled trial shows that lithium treatment in bipolar disorder patients reduces daytime activity, advances its onset time, and increases volatility in circadian rest-activity patterns. These changes appear early and independently of mood, offering promise as early biomarkers of treatment response.

14 Apr 2025

Mental health disorders more prevalent in people with criminal legal histories

A new national epidemiological survey provides a demographic and diagnostic picture of people living with mental ill health in prison, those with criminal legal involvement in the last year, and those with no criminal legal history in the last year-finding significantly higher rates of five mental health conditions in incarcerated individuals and individuals with recent criminal legal history.

9 Apr 2025

Hit hard by opioid crisis, Black patients further hurt by barriers to care

Purple flags, representing the nearly 300 Mecklenburg County residents who died of opioid overdose in 2023, fluttered in the humid breeze last August in recognition of International Overdose Awareness Day on the city’s predominantly Black west side.

2 Apr 2025

Survey shows increased awareness of alcohol’s cancer risks

Public awareness of the link between drinking alcohol and an elevated risk of cancer has grown since last fall, with more than half of Americans now saying that regularly consuming alcohol increases your chances of later developing cancer, according to a survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania.

1 Apr 2025

WHO introduces new guidance to strengthen mental health policies

The World Health Organization (WHO) today launched new guidance to help all countries reform and strengthen mental health policies and systems.

26 Mar 2025

Oklahoma researcher uses technology to combat alcohol use disorder in primary care

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1 in 7 adults in the United States will experience a substance use disorder during their lifetime. University of Oklahoma College of Medicine faculty member Brandi Fink, Ph.D., is working with primary care clinics and health care systems to identify people with an alcohol use disorder and intervene early before the problem worsens.

25 Mar 2025

For seniors with hoarding disorder, a support group helps confront stigma and isolation

A dozen people seated around folding tables clap heartily for a beaming woman: She’s donated two 13-gallon garbage bags full of clothes, including several Christmas sweaters and a couple of pantsuits, to a Presbyterian church.

6 Mar 2025

Research reveals key parental risk factors for child abuse

Child maltreatment has been the focus of two separate studies led by UQ researchers, who examined the main parental risk factors that lead to child abuse, as well as the behavioural impacts later in life.

3 Mar 2025

Texas measles outbreak nears 100 cases, raising concerns about undetected spread

Some private schools have shut down because of a rapidly escalating measles outbreak in West Texas. Local health departments are overstretched, pausing other important work as they race to limit the spread of this highly contagious virus.

21 Feb 2025

Spanish-language Android app created to help Hispanic smokers quit

University of Houston researchers have created a first-of-its-kind, Spanish-language Android app called Impacto, designed specifically to help Hispanic smokers quit with guidance designed to reflect their cultural experiences.

13 Feb 2025

Less restrictive regulation on vaping could improve public health outcomes

University of Queensland researchers have found smoking rates have declined twice as fast in New Zealand as in Australia, suggesting less restrictive regulation on vaping could improve public health outcomes.

11 Feb 2025

COVID-19 pandemic linked to increased emergency department walkouts

Researchers have long known that patients who leave emergency departments before medically advised use more emergency care services, are more likely to be readmitted to the hospital and face higher costs of care-as well as increased mortality rates.

31 Jan 2025

Kennesaw State University's Wellstar School of Nursing secures funding to address opioid addiction

As Georgia navigates a widespread opioid addiction crisis, researchers in Kennesaw State University's Wellstar School of Nursing (WSON) are leveraging a $1.2 million grant to train budding nurses in addressing substance use disorders.

30 Jan 2025

Montana eyes $30M revamp of mental health, developmental disability facilities

As part of a proposed revamping of the state's behavioral health system, Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte's administration is looking into moving a facility for people with developmental disabilities, beefing up renovations at the Montana State Hospital, and creating a Helena unit of that psychiatric hospital.

27 Jan 2025

Parental divorce in childhood tied to 61% higher stroke risk in older adults

Experiencing parental divorce in childhood is associated with a significantly higher risk of stroke in older adulthood, even after accounting for key risk factors such as income, depression, and diabetes.

23 Jan 2025

Study links parental divorce to increased stroke risk in adult children

A recent study by researchers from the University of Toronto, Tyndale University and the University of Texas at Arlington found that older adults are at greater risk of having a stroke if they experienced their parents divorcing during childhood.

22 Jan 2025

Mental health risks higher for pregnant people with MS

Pregnant people with multiple sclerosis (MS) have a higher chance of experiencing mental illness both during their pregnancy and in the first years after they give birth than those without MS, according to a study published in the January 22, 2025 online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology.