Psychiatry Advisor (4/29, Kuhns) reports a systematic review and meta-analysis of 102 studies found that “psychologic symptoms are common across the menopausal transition, with depression, anxiety, and insomnia affecting a substantial proportion of perimenopausal and postmenopausal women worldwide, particularly when measured with screening tools.” Researchers observed that “depressive symptoms were common, with a pooled point prevalence of 30% in postmenopausal and 32% in perimenopausal groups. Period prevalence for postmenopausal vs perimenopausal was 19% and 24%, respectively, while incidence was 5% and 13%, respectively. Anxiety prevalence was 39% in postmenopausal and 29% in perimenopausal women, with a 14% period prevalence in postmenopausal women.” Additionally, “insomnia showed the highest burden, with a point prevalence of 42% in postmenopausal and 27% in perimenopausal, and a 72% period prevalence in postmenopausal women.” The review was published in General Hospital Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “High Prevalence for Depression, Anxiety, and Insomnia in Women With Menopause,”Lisa Kuhns, PhD, Psychiatry Advisor, April 29, 2026

KFF Health News (4/29, Pattani) reports suicide prevention efforts “have typically focused on connecting individuals in crisis with treatment,” but advocates are now “calling for a broader approach” that expands “beyond stopping people from dying to also giving them reasons to live.” Decades of research show initiatives like running food banks or “hosting weekly book clubs for homebound seniors” can reduce suicides. The article profiles New York farmer Chris Pawelski, who “hit his breaking point in 2020.” He and his wife turned to NYFarmNet, a free program that “connects farmers with two consultants: a financial analyst specializing in farm planning and a social worker focused on emotional concerns and family dynamics.” This support enabled him to transition his business model and find new avenues for income, ultimately boosting his mental health.

Related Links:

— “Saving Lives by Changing Lives: The Next Frontier in Suicide Prevention,”Aneri Pattani, KFF Health News, April 29, 2026

The Hill (4/28, Weixel) reports the Administration announced it is “no longer allowing federal funds to be used for purchasing or distributing test strips that can determine if street drugs have been mixed or cut with fentanyl or other contaminants, a reversal that comes amid the administration’s broader opposition to harm reduction practices.” The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration stated in an open letter to federal grantees that “it was ending the practice, which it has championed since 2021, because the strips are ‘intended for use by people using drugs.’ However, the notice emphasized that federal funds can still be used for test strips to be used by public health officials, law enforcement, medical workers and others in professional settings.”

Related Links:

— “Trump administration reverses on paying for fentanyl detection strips,”Nathaniel Weixel, The Hill, April 28, 2026

Psychiatric News (4/28) reports a study found that “suicide is a cyclical phenomenon that rises and falls every couple of decades” in America. The researchers “developed the Suicide Trends and Archival Comparative Knowledgebase (STACK), which contains detailed data from 1900 to 2021.” They found that the US has “experienced four significant upward trends in suicide deaths that started in 1900, 1920, 1960, and 2003; those rises peaked in 1908, 1932, 1977, and 2017, respectively, then trended downward.” The researchers noted the “highest suicide rates occurred during the 1910s and the Great Depression, averaging more than 17 deaths per 100,000 population. The lowest rates were seen around World War II and the mid-late 1950s, at just under 10 deaths per 100,000.” Furthermore, “suicide deaths by hanging have risen significantly and consistently in both males and females since the 1990s,” they said. The study was published in PNAS.

Related Links:

— “The Cycle of Suicide Across U.S. History, Psychiatric News, April 28, 2026

MedPage Today (4/24, Firth) reported that during a Senate hearing last week, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “was asked whether he would commit to restoring the tailored line for LGBTQ+ callers to 988, as required by law, after the Trump administration removed it last summer.” Kennedy responded, “We are working on getting it up now.” Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), the author of “legislation responsible for creating the three-digit lifeline, replacing the prior 10-digit number, also introduced a bill last September, requiring the HHS Secretary to codify the 988 lifeline’s specialized LGBTQ+ program into law. That bill is still pending; however, provisions aimed at restoring the specialized program were tucked into the fiscal year 2026 funding legislation, which has been made law.” The fiscal year 2026 funding bill “included $535 million for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, including $33.1 million for the LGBTQ+ line.” However, the legislation “does not include a timeline for reinstating the program.”

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)