Anxiety News and Research

Latest Anxiety News and Research

Some caffeinated drinks are linked to poorer memory

A study on caffeine's impact reveals product-specific effects on anxiety, memory, and stress among university students, highlighting mental health implications.

28 Jul 2026

Can Alzheimer's genes predict who becomes a SuperAger?

A study on SuperAgers shows exceptional memory isn't solely due to lower Alzheimer's genetic risk, highlighting the role of biological and lifestyle factors.

28 Jul 2026

Trial successfully lowers alcohol use in humanitarian setting

The first known randomized trial of an alcohol-reduction intervention in a humanitarian setting found a significant, sustained effect in lowering alcohol use.

27 Jul 2026

Primary care practices successfully deliver family-based childhood obesity treatment

Childhood obesity affects one in five children in the U.S., yet most families have limited access to specialized weight-management programs for children.

27 Jul 2026

Fluoride myths and DIY dentistry dominate oral health misinformation

A scoping review on online oral health misinformation reveals gaps in evidence and highlights the impact of misleading content on patient behavior in dentistry.

27 Jul 2026

AI mental health chatbots feel empathetic, but safety evidence still lags

Immune dysregulation may contribute to depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and anxiety through chronic inflammation, altered neuroimmune signaling, genetic susceptibility, and stress-related epigenetic changes. Evidence also suggests that biologically defined patient subgroups may benefit from more precise, immune-informed approaches to diagnosis and treatment.

27 Jul 2026

West Virginia University study examines common triggers for anxious driving

West Virginia University researchers say driving anxiety, one of the most common phobias, is triggered by a variety of circumstances that can lead to panic attacks and an avoidance of the open road during the summer traveling season and at other times of the year.

24 Jul 2026

Longer activity bouts link to lower future dementia and mental health risks

A UK Biobank analysis of 66,483 adults found that longer daily moderate-to-vigorous activity bouts and less fragmented activity were associated with lower subsequent risks of inpatient diagnoses of dementia, depression, and anxiety, independent of total activity time. In neuroimaging data from 13,108 participants, these activity patterns were also associated with more favorable brain measures, although the observational analyses cannot establish cause and effect.

23 Jul 2026

Study reveals high prevalence of post-pandemic fatigue and sleep disturbances

Disrupted sleep and anxiety may be an ongoing issue for many people after the pandemic, whether due to COVID-19 directly or to the stress and anxiety caused by the global pandemic, and may contribute to the fatigue commonly reported by people with Post-COVID-19 Syndrome (PCS, or 'long COVID').

23 Jul 2026

Compact genetic switch enables targeted gene therapy for epilepsy

Epilepsy affects over 50 million people worldwide, making it one of the most common neurological disorders.

23 Jul 2026

Motor abnormalities may predict multiple mental health disorders

Motor issues-such as coordination problems, motor slowing, or sudden, uncontrolled movements-have been recognized as signs of psychological disorders since the 1800s. How they map to mental health conditions, however, remains unknown.

22 Jul 2026

Health insurance keeps many Americans trapped in unwanted jobs

Nearly one in four U.S. workers (24%) say they are currently in a job they want to quit but stay with their employer for the health insurance, according to new research from the West Health-Gallup Center on Healthcare in America.

22 Jul 2026

Global study reveals widening gap between lifespan and healthspan

People around the world are living longer than ever before but spending more of those additional years in poor health, according to a new Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study published in The Lancet Public Health.

21 Jul 2026

Childhood unpredictability linked to higher mental health risks

Children who grow up in unpredictable environments may face elevated risks for depression, anxiety, sleep disorders and other mental health challenges, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Irvine, Chapman University and Rady Children's Hospital Orange County, formerly called Children's Hospital of Orange County.

21 Jul 2026

Distributed neural networks make decoding cognition vastly harder than movement

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have made remarkable progress restoring movement and speech in people with paralysis.

21 Jul 2026

Study links severe floods to higher opioid overdose deaths in rural Appalachia

Severe flooding may contribute to higher mortality rates from opioid use in rural Appalachia, according to a study by researchers at Penn State.

20 Jul 2026

Gut microbial metabolites may shape vulnerability to stress-related mental disorders

Gut microbiome-derived metabolites may influence stress-related mental disorders through neural, immune, endocrine, and epigenetic pathways. Evidence is strongest for depression and preclinical models, while larger longitudinal human studies are needed to establish causality and clinical value.

20 Jul 2026

Prenatal use of certain medications can harm developing fetal brain

A review article by a University of Nebraska Medical Center/Child Health Research Institute research team underscores and describes how altering fundamental brain development processes can be detrimental for the developing baby.

20 Jul 2026

Study shows how stress forces brain to prioritize memories

The brain is the machine that perceives, analyses, sorts, stores and prioritizes our memories. However, not all experiences and perceptions are stored in the same way, and not everything is remembered equally, especially when under pressure or emotional stress.

20 Jul 2026

High doses of caffeine from energy drinks cause cardiovascular harm

Previous studies have found that caffeine is the world's most popular stimulant and psychoactive substance, and coffee is the most common way people consume caffeine.

20 Jul 2026