HealthDay (3/9, Thompson) reports that researchers have found that using marijuana, cocaine, or amphetamines can increase an individual’s “risk of stroke – even if they’re a younger adult.” The investigators found that cocaine “and amphetamines can double or triple the risk of stroke for any adult,” while marijuana “also increases stroke risk, but to a lesser extent.” The findings were published in the International Journal of Stroke.

Related Links:

— “Illicit Drugs Raise Stroke Risk, Even for Younger Adults,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, March 9, 2026

Healio (3/9, Gawel) reports, “Asking caregivers if they are concerned about clutter or possible hoarding may help identify neurocognitive disorders, according to a study.” Investigators came to this conclusion after conducting an “observational construct validity study” that “used retrospectively gathered data from 135 patients (mean age, 70.9 years; 39% women; 73% white) at an academic memory disorders clinic between October 2018 and August 2021.” The findings were published in The Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences.

Related Links:

— “Single question about hoarding identifies possible neurocognitive disorders,”Richard Gawel, Healio , March 9, 2026

HealthDay (3/9, Thompson) reports, “Nearly half of seniors 65 and older showed measurable improvement in their brain health, physical function or both over time, researchers” found. The investigators “tracked more than 11,000 people participating in a long-term federally funded study of older Americans.” The researchers found that “during a follow-up period of up to 12 years, 45% of participants improved in either physical or mental fitness.” Approximately “32% had improvements in their brain health, and 28% improved physically.” The findings were published in Geriatrics.

Related Links:

— “Many Seniors Gain Physical, Mental Fitness As They Age, Study Finds,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay , March 9, 2026

The Hill (3/8, Cochran) said that a CDC report (PDF) last month “showed more than 1 in 5 U.S. children and teenagers” had obesity “between 2021 to 2023, compared to only 5.2% between 1971-1974. The number of children with severe obesity in recent years has hit 7%.” To reverse this trend, “experts point to school meals and increased activity as key ways to address childhood obesity, with research showing school meals are the healthiest eating options some students have all day.”

Related Links:

— “Childhood obesity at a record high as MAHA presses for changes to kids’ diets,”Lexi Lonas Cochran, The Hill, March 8, 2026

Healio (3/6, Rhoades) reported, “Multiple healthy diets, especially the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension-style diet, were tied to better cognitive function and a lower risk for cognitive decline, a study…indicated.” Investigators came to this conclusion after conducting a study that “utilized 1986 to 2017 data taken from the Nurses’ Health Study, Nurses’ Health Study II and Health Professionals Follow-Up Study to assess the impact of six dietary patterns on subjective cognitive decline…and objective cognitive function.” The findings were published in JAMA Neurology.

Related Links:

— “Several healthy diets lower the risk for cognitive decline,”Andrew (Drew) Rhoades , Healio, March 6, 2026

HealthDay (3/6, Neff) reported a study suggests that telemedicine has not led to a significant rise in new mental health patients from rural or underserved communities. The researchers “analyzed Medicare billing records for more than 17,000 mental health specialists between 2018 and 2023 in all regions of the United States. They looked at the share of their visits to patients living in rural, low-access-to-care or distant communities.” They found that “specialists who used telemedicine the most saw only a tiny increase – less than one percentage point – in patients from rural regions compared to specialists who rarely used video calls. Interestingly, most of these long-distance visits weren’t with new rural residents; instead, they were existing patients originally from the city who had moved away and kept their old doctors via the screen.” The study was published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Telemedicine Not Closing the Mental Health Gap in Rural Areas,”Deanna Neff, HealthDay, March 6, 2026

The Hill (3/5, Choi) reports, “A poll published Thursday found that Americans have lost trust in federal health institutions and are more likely to say they trust independent, professional medical organizations when it comes to advice on topics like vaccination.” The survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center “found that public trust in agencies like the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) had fallen by 5 to 7 percentage points in the past year.”
The Washington Post (3/5, Sun) also reports, “At the same time, Americans say they have greater confidence in major professional health associations to provide more trustworthy public health information than the federal health agencies.” Survey results show “73% are confident in the American Medical Association to provide trustworthy information related to public health.”

Related Links:

— “Trust in CDC, FDA, NIH shrinks: Survey,”Joseph Choi, The Hill, March 5, 2026

USA Today (3/5, Loehrke) reports the one-hour change amid the transition into daylight saving time “may have an effect on our circadian rhythms, which are the body’s natural 24-hour cycles that regulate essential processes like eating, mood and sleep.” According to USA Today, “the reversal of our biological clocks has been connected to a higher risk of heart attacks, cancer, depression and obesity.” Notably, “the transition from winter to spring can set off mental health problems for many people. About 10% of people” with seasonal affective disorder “have the condition in the spring and summer months.” Additionally, “going to bed later or waking up earlier than usual during the first few days of the time shift could result in sleep deprivation.”

Related Links:

— “For some, the ‘spring forward’ has a cost to their mental health,”Janet Loehrke , USA Today, March 5, 2026

HealthDay (3/5, Neff) reports a study found that “as cannabis use becomes more common and weed more potent, the link between the drug and serious mood disorders is intensifying.” The researchers “analyzed data collected from 35,000 Canadians age 15 and older who were surveyed between 2012 to 2022. This timeframe captures the period before and after Canada legalized recreational cannabis in 2018.” The study “highlights a troubling trend: Cannabis use and mental health struggles are increasingly appearing together. While the study does not definitively prove that one causes the other, the statistical overlap is hard to ignore.” For example, researchers noted that “reports of generalized anxiety disorder and major depression nearly doubled, affecting 5.2% and 7.6% of the population, respectively.” Going forward, “researchers are calling for mental health [professionals] to routinely screen for cannabis use.” The study was published in The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Study Links Rising Cannabis Use to Poor Mental Health,”Deanna Neff, HealthDay, March 5, 2026

MedPage Today (3/4, Firth) reports a study found that “disenrollment from health plans was associated with an increased risk of mortality among patients who initiated medications for opioid use disorder (OUD).” Researchers observed that “in adjusted analyses of more than 20,000 patients, ever experiencing disenrollment was associated with increased risks of all-cause mortality (HR 1.51) and overdose mortality (HR 1.56).” Furthermore, “the all-cause mortality rates were 17.6 versus 14.7 per 1,000 person-years for patients with and without health plan disenrollment, respectively, while rates of overdose mortality were 8.9 versus 5.4 per 1,000 person-years.” The study was published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)