Mental Health News and Research

Latest Mental Health News and Research

Report reveals rising rates of fatal opioid overdoses in Ontario shelters

Researchers from the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network (ODPRN) at St. Michael's Hospital and Public Health Ontario analyzed health data from the Office of the Chief Coroner of Ontario and ICES, and found that there were 210 accidental opioid-related toxicity deaths within shelters between January 2018 to May 2022, with the number of deaths more than tripling during the study period (48 before the pandemic versus 162 during the pandemic).

18 Jun 2024

Older women are different than older men. Their health is woefully understudied.

Medical research has shortchanged women for decades. This is particularly true of older women, leaving physicians without critically important information about how to best manage their health.

18 Jun 2024

Physical activity in natural settings offers benefits over other exercise

The health benefits of physical activity in natural settings (PANS) and strategies to promote it.

18 Jun 2024

New research on long COVID prevalence and risk factors

Early in the pandemic, many people who had SARS-Cov-2 infection or COVID-19 began to report that they couldn't shake off their symptoms even after a month or more-;unusually long for a viral infection of the upper respiratory tract-;or developed new, persistent symptoms soon after the infection cleared.

18 Jun 2024

Daily loneliness linked to increased physical symptoms in middle age, study finds

Daily loneliness significantly impacts physical health in middle-aged adults, leading to increased symptoms like headaches and nausea. Variability in loneliness correlates with higher symptom severity, emphasizing the need for stable social connections.

17 Jun 2024

Survey highlights inadequate sexual health education for LGBTQ+ adolescents

Children across the United States who identify as LGBTQ+ say the sexual health education curricula they receive is leaving them without essential information to make informed decisions about their sexual health – which could force them to seek potentially dangerous advice elsewhere.

17 Jun 2024

Majority of Americans retrospectively support key COVID-19 policies, poll reveals

A majority of Americans say that several key policies to stop the spread of COVID-19 were generally a good idea in hindsight, according to a new national poll by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and the de Beaumont Foundation.

17 Jun 2024

Stanford study identifies six depression biotypes for personalized treatment

In the not-too-distant future, a screening assessment for depression could include a quick brain scan to identify the best treatment.

17 Jun 2024

HEALing Communities Study: Data-driven intervention did not reduce opioid-related overdose death rates

A data-driven intervention that engaged communities to rapidly deploy evidence-based practices to reduce opioid-related overdose deaths – such as increasing naloxone distribution and enhancing access to medication for opioid use disorder – did not result in a statistically significant reduction in opioid-related overdose death rates during the evaluation period, according to results from the National Institutes of Health's HEALing (Helping to End Addiction Long-Term) Communities Study.

17 Jun 2024

Study reveals diverse risk factors for healthy aging in Latin America

A pioneering study published today in the journal Nature Aging has unveiled significant heterogeneity in the risk factors affecting healthy aging in Latin America and emphasized the limitations of current models of brain health, which are primarily based on data from high-income countries.

17 Jun 2024

EULAR endorses self-management of inflammatory arthritis with RECLARIT

EULAR - The European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology - recommends patient self-management for people with inflammatory arthritis.

14 Jun 2024

EULAR unveils ambitious 2024-2029 European Manifesto to combat rheumatic diseases

The European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology (EULAR) is proud to announce the launch of its 2024 - 2029 European Manifesto, aimed at addressing the urgent need for a coordinated European response to Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases (RMDs), focusing particularly on the areas of quality of care, research, and social policy.

14 Jun 2024

Climate change heat poses lasting brain risks for children, study finds

The impact of temperature exposure on children's mental health and cognition during prenatal and early childhood periods.

14 Jun 2024

Short-term alcohol abstinence worsens gut health in alcohol use disorder patients

A study published in PLoS ONE found that short-term abstinence from alcohol in AUD patients exacerbates gut dysbiosis and increases mental distress, contrary to expected improvements.

14 Jun 2024

Google unveils PHIA: AI-powered insights from your wearable health data

Google engineers developed PHIA, an LLM-based agent system that uses information retrieval and advanced code generation to analyze behavioral health data from wearable health trackers, providing personalized health insights.

14 Jun 2024

Multiple head injuries significantly raise ischemic stroke risk, research shows

The rate of stroke in individuals with no history of prior stroke, was 34 percent higher in individuals who experienced at least one head injury than in their peers with no head injury.

13 Jun 2024

Automated texts improve mental wellbeing of health care workers

Health care workers have reported spikes in feeling burnt out in the time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, with nearly half saying it took a toll in 2022 compared to 32 percent in 2018. But a new study shows that easy-to-use and accessible platforms may help reverse this trend.

13 Jun 2024