The American Journal of Managed Care (11/17, Bonavitacola) reports a study found that “Medicaid covers half of all children’s hospital visits, reiterating the need for children to be covered for health care costs.” The study “used the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID) for all discharges of children younger than 21 years that occurred between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2022.” Researchers observed that “a total of 48.3% of all pediatric charges were paid for by Medicaid in 2022, which broke down into 54.9% of all nonnewborn discharges and 44.2% of all newborn discharges. Non-Hispanic White patients were the most frequent users of Medicaid (32.6%), followed by Hispanic (28.6%) and non-Hispanic Black (20.7%) patients.” They noted that “total charges for Medicaid discharges were $119.5 billion, which made up 51.1% of all charges for U.S. pediatric hospitalizations in 2022.” The study was discussed in a JAMA Pediatrics research letter.

Related Links:

— “Medicaid Pays for Half of All Pediatric Hospitalizations,”Julia Bonavitacola, The American Journal of Managed Care, November 17, 2025

Healio (11/17, Feliciano) reports a systematic review and meta-analysis of 31 studies found that “among adolescents, exposure to digital alcohol marketing correlated with increased odds of recent alcohol use, binge drinking and susceptibility to drink.” Researchers observed that “compared with those not exposed, the young adults and adolescents who encountered alcohol marketing had greater odds of reporting alcohol use within the last 30 days, binge drinking and susceptibility to drink among never users.” The review was published in The Lancet Public Health.

Related Links:

— “Binge drinking rates higher in adolescents exposed to alcohol marketing,”Octavia Feliciano, Healio , November 17, 2025

HealthDay (11/17, Thompson) reports a study found that the diabetes drug metformin “can help manage weight gain among children prescribed medications to treat bipolar disorder.” For the study, “researchers recruited more than 1,500 8- to 19-year-olds taking second-generation antipsychotics for bipolar disorder. All of the children” had overweight or obesity “at the start of the study.” According to the researchers, “data at six and 24 months showed that children taking metformin were more likely to avoid or minimize the weight gain associated with their psychiatric medications. These results dovetail with recent updates in national and international guidelines supporting the use of metformin in both children and adults taking second-generation antipsychotics, researchers noted.” The study was published in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Diabetes Drug Quells Weight Loss Among Kids On Bipolar Meds,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, November 17, 2025

HealthDay (11/14, Edwards) reported a study suggests that “older adults who regularly listened to music had a 39% lower risk of developing dementia compared to those who didn’t make music a part of their daily lives.” Researchers observed that of the 10,893 adults aged 70 and older, “about 7,000 said they listened to music most days, and those frequent listeners had the greatest reduction in dementia risk. The study did not specify what type of music was most beneficial.” The research team “emphasized that the study can’t prove that listening to music directly prevents dementia, but the results were strong enough to suggest a possible link.” The study was published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Can Music Protect Your Brain? Study Says It Might Help Prevent Dementia,”I. Edwards, HealthDay, November 14, 2025

Psychiatric News (11/14) reported a study found that “individuals who experienced a sexual assault are at higher risk of developing functional somatic disorder (FSD) – widespread issues with fatigue, discomfort, and pain sensitivity – over the subsequent five years.” After adjusting “for variables like sex, emotional distress levels, neuroticism levels, and medical comorbidities,” researchers observed “that individuals exposed to sexual assault had a 69% increased risk of developing an FSD and a 54% increased risk of developing an [functional somatic syndrome] FSS.” In examining individual syndromes, they also “found that somatic repercussions of sexual assault are not equal – sexual assault was associated with chronic widespread pain, for example, but not irritable bowel syndrome or chronic fatigue.” The study was published in JAMA Psychiatry.

MedPage Today (11/13, George) reports a study found that “children whose dads took valproate up to 3 months before conception were more likely to have neurodevelopmental disorders.” Researchers observed that “compared with children whose fathers took lamotrigine or levetiracetam, kids with fathers exposed to valproate had a higher risk of a neurodevelopmental disorder diagnosis up to age 12 years.” They noted that “congenital malformation risk did not differ between exposure groups.” The study was published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (11/13) reports a new survey of 1,000 men ages 16 to 28 found that “young men who are online much of the day and have little or no social interaction outside of online activities are most likely to self-report dissatisfaction with their life and poor mental health.” According to the results, “about half of young men said they spend five or more hours a day online streaming, gaming, browsing, and/or using social media.” The results also indicated that “young men were split on whether their life is going the way they expected or envisioned it would go: 50% said yes, while 46% said no. Forty percent said they did not have a male mentor or role model. Seventeen percent rated mental health as their top priority – the second most popular answer behind financial stability (27%).” In addition, “young men were more likely to rate their own mental health as fair (33%) or poor/very poor (24%) rather than good (26%) or excellent (14%).”

Related Links:

— “Survey Looks at Young Men’s Online Habits, Satisfaction, and Mental Health, Psychiatric News, November 13, 2025

The AP (11/12, Wells) reports that surveys from the American Psychiatric Association “have repeatedly shown that a significant number of Americans experience climate anxiety.” A study published earlier this year in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences found that “while Generalized Anxiety Disorder often involves the part of the brain that handles fear, threat and emotion, climate anxiety activates parts of the brain that help with high cognition, willpower and tenacity.” Because the threat is indefinite, “it’s largely out of each person’s control and addressing it requires repeated and variable action.” Because climate anxiety is “such a big part of climate action,” the COP30 conference “has increased the number of mental health programs offered during the event, including several that focus on boosting mental health, building psychological resilience in the face of climate change and integrating mental health discussions in education.”

Related Links:

— “Climate change is in the news during COP30. We’ve got tips to tackle your climate anxiety,”Caleigh Wells, AP, November 12, 2025

Neurology Advisor (11/12, Khaja) reports a study found that “exposure to common infectious agents is associated with domain-specific cognitive impairment among community-dwelling older adults.” The researchers examined “whether serologic evidence of infection with 5 common pathogens (herpes simplex virus [HSV]-1, HSV-2, cytomegalovirus [CMV], Helicobacter pylori, and Chlamydia pneumoniae) was associated with cognitive performance and risk for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia.” They found that “after adjusting for demographic, vascular, and psychosocial confounders, CMV and HSV-2 seropositivity were significantly associated with poorer executive function, while C pneumoniae seropositivity was linked to reduced language performance. In unadjusted models, CMV seropositivity was associated with increased risk for incident MCI and dementia. However, these associations were no longer significant after adjustment.” The study was published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

Related Links:

— “Common Infections Linked to Cognitive Decline in Older Adults,”Hibah Khaja, Neurology Advisor, November 12, 2025

The Los Angeles Times (11/10, Flores) says that a nationwide survey conducted by Equip, a virtual eating disorder treatment program, found that “more than 70% of Latino respondents reported experiencing at least one disordered eating behavior in the past, with the most common behaviors being restrictive (52%) and binge eating (37%). However, only 12% reported having been formally diagnosed with an eating disorder.” Although a majority of survey respondents “identified food as being both positive and central to their life, 55% reported that they had experienced teasing or discrimination related to weight. Family was identified as having the top influence on body image, more than peers or social media.”

Related Links:

— “Binge eating disorder is prevalent among Latinos but underdiagnosed, Los Angeles Times , November 10, 2025