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

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

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

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

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

The New York Times (3/25, Kang, Mac, Tan) reports a Los Angeles jury found Wednesday that Meta and YouTube “harmed a young user with design features that were addictive and led to her mental health distress.” The jury found that “Meta must pay $4.2 million in combined compensatory and punitive damages, and YouTube must pay $1.8 million.” The plaintiff, a 20-year-old woman, “accused social media companies of creating products as addictive as cigarettes or digital casinos.” According to the Times, the “landmark decision…could open social media companies to more lawsuits over users’ well-being.” The finding “validates a novel legal theory that social media sites or apps can cause personal injury. It is likely to factor into similar cases expected to go to trial this year.” Wednesday’s verdict follows a similar “ruling this week by a New Mexico jury” that found “Meta liable for violating state law by failing to safeguard users of its apps from child predators.”

Related Links:

— The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (3/24, Neff) reports a study found that “when a parent dies unexpectedly due to violence, self-harm or addiction, the trauma for a child left behind is immense.” The researchers “looked at decades of data to understand the survival rates of children in the state who lost a biological parent to three specific causes: Homicide, suicide or drug overdose.” They found that “those who lost a parent to one of these three causes were far more likely to die before the age of 18 than the general population.” Overall, the researchers “linked 150 excess childhood deaths in Michigan over the 14-year study period directly to the loss of a parent.” The study was discussed in a JAMA Network Open research letter.

Related Links:

— “Parental Loss Due to Drugs, Violence Raises Child Death Risk by 2,000%,”Deanna Neff, HealthDay, March 24, 2026

MedPage Today (3/25, Monaco) reports a study found that “a growing proportion of antipsychotic prescriptions for older adults were written by nonphysician clinicians, reflecting shifts in the mental health care workforce and prescribing practices.” According to the study, “from 2013 to 2023, antipsychotic prescription claims for Medicare Part D beneficiaries written by psychiatrists and primary care physicians (PCPs) declined annually by 3.2% and 2.6%, respectively.” However, “prescriptions from advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) and physician assistants (PAs)…rose by 11.8% each year.” Researchers observed that “over the decade, the proportion of prescriptions decreased for psychiatrists (from 48.4% to 32.4%) and PCPs (from 33% to 23.8%) but nearly tripled for APRNs and PAs, jumping from 13.8% to 39.6%.” The study was published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

MedPage Today (3/24, Henderson) reports a systematic scoping review of 12 articles suggests that consumers should not “expect accuracy and transparency in the promotion of prescription drugs by social media influencers.” While evidence was limited in the review, researchers observed that “recurrent themes in posts about prescription drugs by influencers included misinformation and blurred lines between personal testimony and paid promotion, with weak regulatory oversight.” Of the review’s findings, “concerns about accuracy and misinformation were raised in seven studies.” In addition, the authors wrote that several studies detailed the “critical role of parasocial dynamics in shaping trust and engagement with influencer content (persuasiveness).” Furthermore, researchers noted that FDA and FTC guidance on transparency was “described as vague, outdated, and difficult to enforce across global platforms.” The review was published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (3/24, Volansky) reports, “Risks for anxiety and depression increased among former college athletes with three or more lifetime concussions, according to” research. Investigators came to this conclusion after conducting a study “that included 3,910 former collegiate athletes (median age, 25 years; 48.64% women; 75.45% white) who completed a baseline evaluation at the start of their collegiate athletic careers between 2018 and 2021 and were evaluated again within 5 years of graduation, with 77.42% reporting no concussions prior to their collegiate career.” The findings were published in Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Lifetime concussion history linked to depression, anxiety in former college athletes,”Rob Volansky, Healio, March 24, 2026