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Latest News Around the Web

People Who Closely Follow Mediterranean-Style Diet Have Lower Risk Of Developing Dementia, Experience Cognitive Benefits As They Age, Study Finds

Psychiatric News (3/27) reported, “People who closely follow a Mediterranean-style diet have a lower risk of developing dementia and also experience cognitive benefits as they age, according to a study.” Researchers found that “among 86,740 women and 43,500 men followed for up to 43 years, strong adherence to the [Mediterranean diet] and the MIND diet was associated with a 21% and a 14% lower risk of dementia, respectively, compared with those with the lowest adherence.” The findings were published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

Related Links:

— “Mediterranean Diet Lowers Dementia Risk, Psychiatric News, March 27, 2026

Calls To US Poison Centers About Kratom Increased More Than 1,200% Between 2015 And 2025, Research Finds

CNN (3/27, Rogers) reported, “Calls to poison centers in the United States about the widely available herb kratom increased more than 1,200% between 2015 and 2025, new research has found.” Investigators “analyzed data from the National Poison Data System and found that calls steadily increased from 2015 to 2019, plateaued from 2020 to 2024 and surged in 2025.” The researchers found that “last year, there were 3,434 kratom poisoning reports in the US, a record number, up from only 258 calls in 2015.” A number of “case reports show that kratom overdoses have been responsive to naloxone, the opioid overdose antidote, psychiatrist Dr. Lief Fenno, chairman of the American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Addiction Psychiatry, told CNN in August.” The findings were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Related Links:

— “Kratom poisoning calls have spiked more than 1,200% since 2015,”Kristen Rogers, CNN , March 27, 2026

As many as five to 10 million Americans could lose Medicaid coverage in 2028

ChiefHealthcareExecutive (3/26, Southwick) reports, “Hospitals have been warning that changes to Medicaid programs would mean millions of Americans would lose coverage in the near future, and a new analysis offers an estimate on how many would be affected.” The report, from the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, suggests that “as many as five to 10 million Americans would lose coverage from Medicaid in 2028.” The report indicates “between 3 million and 7 million could lose Medicaid coverage due to new work requirements, while 2 million to 3.1 million will lose coverage due to their eligibility being checked more frequently.”

Related Links:

— “Millions could lose Medicaid coverage, even in best scenario, report says,”Ron Southwick, Chief Healthcare Executive, March 26, 2026

Mentally Passive Sedentary Behavior May Increase Risk For Dementia, While Mentally Active Sedentary Behavior May Reduce Risk, Study Finds

HealthDay (3/26, Gotkine) reports, “Mentally passive sedentary behavior may increase the risk for dementia, while mentally active sedentary behavior may reduce the risk, according to a study.” Investigators came to this conclusion after examining “associations of mentally passive and mentally active sedentary behaviors with incident dementia using data from the Swedish National March Cohort, including 20,811 adults aged 35 to 64 years.” The findings were published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Dementia Risk May Vary With Mentally Active Versus Passive Sitting,”Elana Gotkine, HealthDay, March 26, 2026

Maladaptive Patterns Of Smartphone Use, Greater Daily Screentime Were Associated With Body Image Dissatisfaction And Disordered Eating Behaviors, Research Indicates

Healio (3/26, Feliciano) reports, “Maladaptive patterns of smartphone use and greater daily screentime were associated with body image dissatisfaction and disordered eating behaviors, a study” found. Investigators came to this conclusion after evaluating “the overlap between problematic smartphone use, which they defined as ‘maladaptive use mirroring a behavioral addiction,’ and symptoms of disordered eating in a systematic review of 35 studies.” The findingswere published in JMIR Mental Health.

Related Links:

— “Eating disorder symptoms linked to problematic smartphone use,”Octavia Feliciano, Healio, March 26, 2026

Foundation News

The Foundation Talks About Job Loss and Anxiety in These Trying Times

Losing your job can feel like losing a part of yourself. The financial and emotional strain can be very painful. The Foundation covers the current job loss in the federal workforce and economic instability in their latest Public Service Announcement.

Loss of EmploymentLoss of Employment, MP3, 1.3MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

Latest Foundation Radio PSA Examine How Extreme Weather Changes Affect Mental Health

Hotter summers and more severe storms can seriously affect people with psychiatric disorders. Medicines prodded can make one more prone to heat stroke, and each degree rise in temperature has been shown to cause significant rises in hospitalizations for mental disorders. The Foundation covers this and more in their latest Public Service Announcement.

How Extreme Weather Changes Affect Mental HealthHow Extreme Weather Changes Affect Mental Health, MP3, 1.0MB

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller to Receive MFP Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award

The 2024 Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry (MFP) Anti-Stigma Advocacy Prize will be awarded to Maryland Lieutenant Governor Aruna Miller for her Personal Interview on May 23, 2023 with WBAL News.
Lt. Gov. Miller was very helpful, conveying to the public in a very personal way the impact of her father’s mental illness – not only on him, but on their family. Her experience also demonstrated that one can live through this kind of experience and still become very successful adults. She also made an important point that mental illness isn’t a moral failing, but is a chronic health condition.

The Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award will be formally presented at the Maryland Psychiatric Society annual meeting on April 18.

The Foundation established this annual prize for a worthy media piece, preferably local or regional, that accomplishes one or more of the following:

  • Shares with the public their experience with mental illness in themselves, a family member, or simply in the community.
  • Helps others to overcome their inability to talk about mental illness or their own mental illness.
  • Imparts particularly insightful observations on the general subject of mental illness.

Click here for information about past winners.

PSA Examines Anxiety from Political and Social Media

The Foundation has re-released a Public Service Announcement to local Maryland radio stations that examines anxiety caused by political and social media. People experience a wide variety of feelings after a particularly divisive political campaign or a significant event getting 24 hour coverage across networks and online. Those feelings can include alienation from family and friends, anger at a system or event out of their control, and grief or helplessness at what may come. There are things that can be done to help, ranging from breaks from Facebook and TikTok and similar sites to seeking actual help from professionals.

Listen to the PSA on our home page or from our PSA collection, where you can listen to or download other advice given in past PSAs.

Call for Nominations for Anti-Stigma Advocacy Award

The Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry presents an annual award to recognize a worthy piece published in a major newspaper or on public media that accomplishes one or more of the following:

· Shares with the public their experience with mental illness in themselves, a family member, or in the community.
· Helps others to overcome their inability to talk about mental illness or their own mental illness.
· Imparts particularly insightful observations on the general subject of mental illness.

The article should be published or produced during the period from January 15, 2023 to January 9, 2024. A Maryland author and/or newspaper or major media outlet is preferred. Click here for past winners and published articles.

The award carries a $500 prize, which is given at the Maryland Psychiatric Society annual meeting in April. Please send nominations to mfp@mdpsych.org by January 10, 2024.