NBC News (6/1, Bendix, Yang) reports a study found that “nearly 1 in 5 adolescents and young adults are turning to AI chatbots for advice when they’re sad, angry, nervous or stressed.” The findings from the research institute RAND “represent an increase from early 2025, when the nonprofit conducted a similar survey. At the time, around 13% of respondents said they used chatbots for such advice, but the share rose to 19% in the group’s latest survey in November.” For the survey, researchers “asked people ages 12 to 21 whether they had used a service like ChatGPT, GoogleGemini or Character. AI for mental health advice,” as well as if they “found the chatbot’s advice helpful, which the vast majority said they did.” According to NBC News, “the share of young people using AI chatbots for mental health advice is close to the percentage of adolescents who report receiving mental health therapy from a professional.” The study was published in JAMA Pediatrics.

The American Journal of Managed Care (6/1, McCormick) adds that “among those who used chatbots for mental health advice, 42.8% did so at least monthly, whereas 5.8% reported daily or near-daily use.”

Related Links:

— “Around 1 in 5 young people use AI chatbots for mental health advice, survey finds,”Aria Bendix and Angela Yang , NBC News, June 1, 2026

The AP (5/29, Stobbe) reported, “The cigarette smoking rate among U.S. adults dropped to another all-time low last year, with 1 in 11 adults saying they were current smokers, according to” preliminary findings from the CDC that “were based on survey responses from more than 24,200 adults.” The AP adds, “In 2024, the percentage of current adult smokers fell below 10% for the first time. Last year, it was 9%, according to the new survey.” Meanwhile, “the use of electronic cigarettes has been inching up among adults, but…held about steady in 2025, at about 7%.”

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— “US adult cigarette smoking rate hits another all-time low,”Mike Stobbe , AP, May 29, 2026

Psychiatric News (5/29) reported a study found that “individuals with a history of non-medical opioid or stimulant use who lose access to their prescribed opioids are at elevated risk of turning to street drugs to manage chronic pain.” The researchers “analyzed data from 300 adults with a lifetime history of non-prescribed opioid or stimulant (cocaine or methamphetamine) use who had received long-term opioids for chronic non-cancer pain over the past year.” They observed that 59% “lost access to opioid prescriptions for at least 30 days during the study period. These patients had 2.55 times the odds of increasing their cocaine use and 3.4 times the odds of increasing their methamphetamine use compared with patients who had continuous access to opioid prescriptions.” The study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Related Links:

— “Risk of Stimulant Use Rises After Opioid Deprescribing, Psychiatric News , May 29, 2026

Psychiatric News (5/28) reports a study found that the “expiration of federal and state laws enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic to suspend housing evictions was associated with increases in both outpatient visits for serious mental illness and the number of people receiving prescriptions for psychotropic medications.” The study “focused on two periods corresponding to the staggered expiration of state eviction moratoriums in summer 2020 (phase 1) and the expiration of the federal moratorium in August 2021 (phase 2).” Researchers observed that “in phase 1, eviction moratorium expirations were associated with a statistically significant increase of 0.57% in the weekly number of patients who were prescribed psychotropic medication and a 3.42% increase in the number of patients who received outpatient care for serious mental illness (SMI). In phase 2, the federal eviction moratorium expiration was associated with a 1.17% increase in patients receiving psychotropic prescriptions and a 3.13% increase in patients with SMI receiving outpatient care.” The study was published in JAMA Health Forum.

Related Links:

— “Expiration of COVID-Era Eviction Moratoriums Associated With Increase in Mental Health Care Utilization, Psychiatric News, May 28, 2026

HealthDay (5/26, Thompson) reports a study found that “almost 60% of college students who seek mental health care after a psychotic episode do not get the recommended treatment.” The investigators “looked at responses from more than 2,800 U.S. college students, all of whom were diagnosed with psychosis.” They found that “nearly 60% said they believed they did require help dealing with their psychosis.” Researchers observed that “while 8 in every 10 students interviewed said they’d sought counseling or therapy over the prior 12 months, only 4 in 10 had taken an antipsychotic medication. It’s not clear why so few of the students obtained medication,” but investigators believe “stigma around mental health issues could play a role.” The study was published in Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology.

Related Links:

— “Many U.S. College Students With Psychosis Are Not Receiving Treatment,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay , May 26, 2026

The AP (5/24, Stobbe) reported, “Frustrated family members and others have been pushing for law changes in New York and other states that would allow the release of mental health records of long-dead ancestors.” These “efforts have resulted in access policy changes in some states…but elsewhere reforms are happening slowly or not at all.” The AP added, “Such records have drawn the interest of some people whose families are struggling with depression, suicide or other issues.”

Related Links:

— “How state laws can stymie research into your ancestors’ psychiatric records,”Mike Stobbe , AP , May 24, 2026

Psychiatry Advisor (5/22, Kuhns) reported, “Girls with tic disorders appear to have a greater burden of depression, self-injurious behaviors, and suicidality compared with boys, highlighting important sex-specific risks in this population, according to study results.” Researchers came to this conclusion after conducting a cross-sectional study that used caregiver-reported data “to assess clinical characteristics and psychiatric comorbidities in children and adolescents with tic disorders.” The findings were presented at the American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting.

Related Links:

— “Girls vs Boys With Tic Disorders Show Higher Risk for Depression and Suicide,”Lisa Kuhns, Psychiatry Advisor, May 22, 2026

MedPage Today (5/21, George) reports a study suggests that “greater structural brain integrity appeared to buffer the cognitive consequences of Alzheimer’s disease pathology.” The researchers “evaluated two markers of brain reserve – brain-predicted age difference (brain-PAD) and a volumetric Alzheimer’s disease signature – in cognitively unimpaired older adults. Brain-PAD, a marker of overall structural brain health, uses MRI data to determine how much older or younger a brain appears relative to chronological age.” Overall, researchers observed that “brain-PAD moderated the association between Alzheimer’s pathology and multiple cognitive domains, including episodic memory (β = -0.09), processing speed (β = -0.08), working memory (β = -0.10), and executive function/attentional control (β = -0.08).” The study was published in Neurology.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

CNN (5/21, Rogers) reports, “Nearly 1.2 billion people worldwide had” a mental illness “in 2023, reflecting a 95.5% increase since 1990, a new study has found.” The data indicated that “the largest increases were in anxiety and depression, which were also the most common disorders in 2023,” while “in third place was a residual category of personality disorders not accompanied by other mental or substance use disorders.” The research “also revealed how trends concerning 12 mental disorders differed by age, sex, location and sociodemographic factors among 204 countries and territories – suggesting ‘that we are entering an even more concerning phase of worsening mental disorder burden globally,’ the authors wrote in the study.” The findings were published in The Lancet. CNN adds, “Many positive and negative factors contribute to the higher rates, experts said.” Dr. Robert Trestman, chair of the American Psychiatric Association’s council on healthcare systems and financing, said, “The stigma of mental illness has been substantially reduced – people are much more comfortable coming forward, as opposed to suffering in silence.”

Related Links:

— “Nearly 1.2 billion people worldwide are living with mental disorders. The number has been growing,”Kristen Rogers , CNN, May 21, 2026

HealthDay (5/19, Thompson) reports a study found that “children’s body mass index (BMI) rose steadily as their personal list of traumas mounted, including abuse, divorce, poverty, neglect or bullying.” The researchers “analyzed data from more than 5,400 11- and 12-year-olds of Latinx and Hispanic descent.” Results indicated that “3 out of 4 kids had at least one prior adverse childhood event.” According to the study, “every additional two traumatic experiences caused a nearly half-point increase in BMI.” The study highlighted that “one contributing factor might be that they are disproportionately affected by childhood traumas, researchers said. More than 83% of Latinx and Hispanic kids reported at least one trauma, compared to 72% of non-Hispanic kids.” With that said, “children who said they had at least one caring adult in their lives tended to have lower BMIs, even if they’d experienced high levels of trauma, the study found.” The study was published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Childhood Trauma Tied to Higher Obesity Risk, But One Caring Adult Can Make A Difference,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay , May 19, 2026