Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

The House Speaker’s eyeing big cuts to Medicaid. In his Louisiana district, It’s a lifeline.

When Desoto Regional Health System took out $36 million in loans last year to renovate a rural hospital that opened in 1952, officials were banking on its main funding source remaining stable: Medicaid, the joint federal-state health program for low-income people and the disabled.

7 Apr 2025

Healthy Beginnings, Hopeful Futures: A Conversation with WHO’s Dr. Allotey

Dr. Pascale Allotey advocates for comprehensive maternal health policies, stressing the importance of women's voices in shaping effective healthcare solutions.

7 Apr 2025

Treating SIBO holistically helps patients feel better, new study finds

A 90-day real-world study in Spain shows that a comprehensive, personalized treatment for SIBO significantly improves patients’ quality of life—even when breath tests remain abnormal.

7 Apr 2025

Medical cannabis may help reduce cravings and improve recovery outcomes

A new pilot study from UBC Okanagan and Thompson Rivers University examined how medically supervised cannabis use in a residential recovery home may support people in treatment for substance use challenges.

4 Apr 2025

Cornell researchers discover brain mechanisms behind psilocybin's effects

Psilocybin is the active ingredient that gives so-called "magic mushrooms" their hallucinogenic kick. It also has a therapeutic potential for treating depression.

4 Apr 2025

Exposure to wildfire smoke raises mental health visits to emergency departments

Exposure to fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke was associated with increased visits to emergency departments (ED) for mental health conditions, according to a new study led by researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

4 Apr 2025

Hormonal contraceptives linked to higher postpartum depression risk

Researchers investigate whether the use of hormonal contraception increases the risk of postpartum depression.

4 Apr 2025

New bacterial evolutionary map could lead to precision treatments for infections

The first-of-its-kind in-depth bacterial evolutionary map could pave the way for the development of precision treatments for certain antibiotic-resistant infections, such as urinary tract infections.

3 Apr 2025

NIH trial demonstrates AI's effectiveness in opioid use disorder care

NIH-supported clinical trial shows AI tool as effective as healthcare providers in generating referrals to addiction specialists.

3 Apr 2025

Penn Medicine CAREs grants support patient storytelling and community health

Hospitals, some of the busiest places, can also be among the loneliest.

3 Apr 2025

Trump’s DEI undoing undermines hard-won accommodations for disabled people

For years, White House press conferences included sign language interpreters for the deaf.

3 Apr 2025

Racial and age disparities in cervical artery dissection hospitalizations

Cervical artery dissection is a tear in an artery in the neck that provides blood flow to the brain. Such a tear can result in blood clots that cause stroke. A new study has found almost a five-fold increase in the number of U.S. hospitalizations for cervical artery dissection over a 15-year period.

3 Apr 2025

New research underscores the importance of broader health benefits in obesity care

New research to be presented at this year's European Congress on Obesity (ECO 2025, Malaga, Spain, 11-14 May) suggests that weight loss program targeting a particular % weight loss are often failing, and that other factors should be considered including improvement of obesity-related complications, enhancing quality of life and overall physical and social functioning.

3 Apr 2025

Experts develop new guidelines for the treatment of schizophrenia

New guidelines have been developed for the treatment of schizophrenia after a collaboration of international experts from 30 countries.

2 Apr 2025

UTA researchers focus on enhancing health and quality of life for all ages

Genevieve Graaf spent years as a mental health social worker specializing in children and youth with complex behavioral health needs.

2 Apr 2025

National Walking Day encourages movement for better health

Sedentary behavior has become a national health crisis, with 1 in 4 U.S. adults sitting for more than eight hours a day, increasing their risk for heart disease, stroke, and mental health challenges, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

2 Apr 2025

Vegetarian diets may hinder healthy aging—unless diet quality is high

Older Chinese adults who followed vegetarian diets were less likely to reach age 80 in good health. However, this disadvantage disappeared for those consuming high-quality plant-based diets.

2 Apr 2025

Football proven to prevent and treat lifestyle diseases

Danish researchers, in collaboration with the Danish Football Association, have released a White Paper that describes football as an effective recipe in the prevention and treatment of lifestyle-related diseases.

2 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