Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Study shows link between poverty and suicide in children, teens

Suicide in children under age 20 has been increasing in the U.S., with rates almost doubling over the last decade.

29 Jan 2020

Past trauma exposure, depression associated with suicide ideation in deployed soldiers

Lifetime history of exposure to a traumatic event and self-reported lifetime and current depression are predictive of recent suicide ideation in deployed soldiers, according to a new JAMA Network Open study published January 29, 2020.

29 Jan 2020

Mount Sinai cardiologists share tips to prevent and lower risk of cardiac events

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among both men and women in the United States, but according to the American Heart Association, it is preventable 80 percent of the time.

29 Jan 2020

Living longer AND living healthy

American Heart Association (AHA) President Robert A. Harrington says that the life expectancy has gone up in recent years. Still, he points out, improved life expectancy doesn’t translate to improved health in all cases. According to him, “Not all those years are healthy ones as the effects of chronic illnesses are increasingly impacting the quality of life of people at a much younger age than in the past.”

29 Jan 2020

A single dose of magic mushroom compound reduces anxiety and depression among cancer patients

Magic mushrooms are wild or cultivated mushrooms containing psilocybin, which is a naturally occurring hallucinogenic and psychoactive compound. A single dose of psilocybin provides long-term relief of anxiety and depression in cancer patients, a new study found.

29 Jan 2020

Study helps better understand the development of adolescent brain

New brain networks come 'online' during adolescence, allowing teenagers to develop more complex adult social skills, but potentially putting them at increased risk of mental illness, according to new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

29 Jan 2020

New goals to help all people live healthier for more years of life

Data reported in the just published American Heart Association's Heart & Stroke Statistics - 2020 Update, show heart disease and stroke deaths continue to decline, but that trend has slowed significantly in recent years.

29 Jan 2020

Key predictors for combination of alcohol use disorder and depression uncovered

For people with psychiatric disorders, comorbidity — or the presence of two or more disorders in a single patient — is quite common. One of the most common comorbidities is alcohol use disorder and major depressive disorder.

28 Jan 2020

Concordia study investigates the link between cognition and hearing or vision loss

There is a long-established and widely recognized link between declines in sensory acuity -- particularly hearing and vision -- and cognition. Data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, involving tens of thousands of participants across the country aged 45 to 85, backs this up.

28 Jan 2020

NIU professor gets $372,500 to study link between brain health and exercise

Angela Grippo's New Year's resolution is exercise, exercise, exercise, but the Northern Illinois University psychology professor won't be breaking a sweat or hitting the gym.

28 Jan 2020

Study offers significant promise for treating an aspect of schizophrenia

Research by a University of Georgia psychologist shows that targeting one particular symptom of schizophrenia has a positive effect on other symptoms, offering significant promise for treating an aspect of schizophrenia that currently has no pharmaceutical options.

28 Jan 2020

Non-invasive electrostimulation of the vagus nerve improves memory in mice

Researchers at UPF are testing a new non-invasive method of stimulating the vagus nerve in mice that improves their memory.

28 Jan 2020

Exercise addiction more common among people with eating disorder

New research shows that exercise addiction is nearly four times more common amongst people with an eating disorder.

28 Jan 2020

NICU babies have higher risk of mental health problems in later life

Children who spend time in a neonatal intensive care unit at birth have a higher risk of mental health issues later, regardless of their birth weight, say McMaster University researchers.

28 Jan 2020

Psychedelic drug has enduring antianxiety and antidepressant effects in cancer patients

Following up on their landmark 2016 study, researchers at NYU Grossman School of Medicine found that a one-time, single-dose treatment of psilocybin, a compound found in psychedelic mushrooms, combined with psychotherapy appears to be associated with significant improvements in emotional and existential distress in cancer patients.

28 Jan 2020

AI analysis of blood samples can predict progression of neurodegenerative disease

Evaluating the effectiveness of therapies for neurodegenerative diseases is often difficult because each patient's progression is different.

28 Jan 2020

Research could improve lives of some people with treatment-resistant depression

Beth MacKay knew at a young age that she saw the world differently than many of her friends and family. She thought her pessimism and cynicism were rooted in realism, a proud reminder of her Scottish roots, and not a sign of an underlying medical condition. But, that understanding of herself changed when at the age of 17, she attempted suicide.

28 Jan 2020

One-third of UK doctors burned out and stressed

A detailed survey published online in the journal BMJ Open in January 2020 says that almost a third of doctors in the UK are under significant stress and burnt out. The ones most at risk are those who are posted in the emergency room and in general practice. These professionals complain of exhaustion, stress and “compassion fatigue”, or a lack of satisfaction or pleasure at having completed a job well and having helped others.

27 Jan 2020

Mysterious large holes in cells linked with sense of taste, Alzheimer's disease, asthma

Many cells are covered with mysterious large holes, pores that have been associated with the sense of taste as well as Alzheimer's disease, depression, and even asthma. Knowing the structure of these varied holes will help researchers better understand this range of associations and provide a blueprint for developing new therapies.

27 Jan 2020

Increased youth suicide rates found in high poverty communities

A study led by Jennifer Hoffmann, MD, from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, found that higher county-level poverty is associated with increased youth suicide rates among children 5-19 years old in the United States in 2007-2016.

27 Jan 2020