Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Highly sensitive individuals more prone to mental health challenges

The meta-analysis of 33 studies, the first of its kind, looked at the relationship between sensitivity and common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.

18 Aug 2025

Youth mental health crisis leads to prolonged emergency room stays

America's youth mental health crisis has escalated to the point that thousands of children primarily suffering from suicide-related behaviors and depression are stuck in hospital emergency rooms for three days or more, according to new research from Oregon Health & Science University.

18 Aug 2025

Missing messenger RNA fragments unlock new immunotherapy targets in pediatric brain tumors

A new study, led by researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), identified tiny pieces of messenger RNA that are missing in pediatric high-grade glioma tumors but not in normal brain tissues.

18 Aug 2025

Better control of childhood EoE-associated inflammation reduces esophagus stiffening and complications

Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and Children's Hospital Colorado have found that better control of chronic eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE)-associated inflammation during childhood leads to less stiffening of the esophagus, resulting in fewer disease complications.

18 Aug 2025

New insights into how multisensory integration happens in the brain

It has long been understood that experiencing two senses simultaneously, like seeing and hearing, can lead to improved responses relative to those seen when only one sensory input is experienced by itself.

17 Aug 2025

Patients recall inadequate disclosure of electroconvulsive therapy risks

The medical pros of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) are being exaggerated while the risks are being downplayed, suggest the findings of a survey on the type of information patients and their relatives/friends recall having been given before the procedure, and published online in the Journal of Medical Ethics.

17 Aug 2025

Leg movement variability provides reliable marker of dystonia in pediatric cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy affects around one in 345 children in the U.S., and more than half of them experience a problem called dystonia - involuntary and often painful muscle contractions, most commonly in the legs, that lead to abnormal movement and postures and make regular activities such as walking difficult.

14 Aug 2025

Therapy dog programs lack standard rules in England

A national survey on therapy animals highlights the importance of standardized practices in dog-assisted interventions to improve outcomes and ensure safety.

14 Aug 2025

Helping others regularly slows cognitive decline in older adults

In the latest evidence that meaningful social connections bolster health, a team from The University of Texas at Austin and University of Massachusetts Boston has found that regular time spent helping outside the home significantly slows cognitive decline in middle-age and older adults.

13 Aug 2025

Pandemic left measurable changes in teen brains, hormones, and immunity

Adolescents assessed after COVID-19 lockdowns showed lower daily cortisol, higher inflammation, and reduced prefrontal cortex activity compared to matched pre-pandemic peers, suggesting widespread stress-related biological changes. These alterations mirror patterns seen after prolonged early-life stress, raising concerns about long-term health risks.

13 Aug 2025

Primary care could help meet growing needs of cancer survivors

Thanks to new advances in cancer care, more and more people are surviving cancer, with a projected total of 22.5 million survivors by 2032.

13 Aug 2025

Quitting smoking linked to better recovery from drug and alcohol addiction

Adults who smoke cigarettes and are addicted to alcohol or other drugs were more likely to achieve sustained remission of their substance use disorder symptoms if they also quit smoking, according to scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). `

13 Aug 2025

Research explores connection between reading imagination and mental health

A new tool to understand how people imagine differently when reading could have potential implications for the treatment of mental ill health.

13 Aug 2025

Doctor’s white coats remain a symbol of trust despite growing acceptance of scrubs

Patients are still more likely to trust doctors and consider them more professional when they wear white coats, although women doctors in this attire are often misidentified as nurses or medical assistants, finds a review of the available research on the topic, published in the open access journal BMJ Open.

13 Aug 2025

An Arm and a Leg: A wild health insurance hustle

When a New York couple purchased a health insurance plan from a telemarketer, they thought it covered everything they wanted: doctor visits, tests, and medicine.

13 Aug 2025

Researchers find CFI deficiency alarmingly high in old order Amish

Researchers from Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the Clinic for Special Children found that complement factor I (CFI) deficiency, an ultra-rare genetic disorder that can cause debilitating neuroinflammation, is more than 4500 times more likely to be found in individuals of Old Order Amish ancestry than the rest of the global population.

13 Aug 2025

Lifestyle interventions key to closing life expectancy gap in mental illness

Mental health services must urgently increase investment in lifestyle interventions to improve care and help close the 15-year life expectancy gap faced by people with mental illness, a new Lancet Psychiatry Commission report warns.

12 Aug 2025

High-potassium diets show consistent mental health benefits

Higher intakes of certain dietary minerals are linked to lower depression risk, with potassium showing consistent benefits in both U.S. and Korean adults. Patterns differ by country, sex, and age, highlighting the role of cultural diets and nutrient bioavailability in mental health.

12 Aug 2025

Long COVID linked to lasting financial hardship and work disruption

While the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be widely studied and debated, the financial toll of the COVID-19 pandemic for individual patients is less understood.

12 Aug 2025

Autistic college students face higher rates of anxiety and depression

As autism diagnoses continue to grow and remain a topic of nationwide debate, new research reveals that autistic individuals are facing mental health challenges at a major turning point in their lives – when they go to college.

12 Aug 2025