Psychiatric News (11/21) reported a study suggests that “for every 22 soldiers who receive an intervention designed to modify their attention bias prior to deployment, one case of postcombat PTSD could be prevented.” For the study, “501 male combat-bound Israeli soldiers received one of the three interventions during their basic training.” Researchers observed that “one year after study participants were exposed to combat, fewer than 1% of those who received response-time-based attention bias training self-reported PTSD symptoms significant enough to be considered probable PTSD. By comparison, 2.7% of soldiers who received an eye-tracking-based attention intervention and 5.3 % who received a sham intervention reported probable PTSD.” Researchers noted that “the difference between the response-time intervention and sham was statistically significant, with a number-needed-to-treat estimate of 22.” The study was published in The American Journal of Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Could Cognitive Training Before Deployment Prevent PTSD in Soldiers?, Psychiatric News, November 21, 2025

HealthDay (11/20, Thompson) reports a study found that “the opioid addiction medication buprenorphine can dramatically lower risk of overdose among teenagers and young adults – but only if taken long-term.” According to researchers, “those who kept taking buprenorphine as prescribed for at least a year were much less likely to suffer an overdose or require hospitalization due to opioid use.” Study results showed that young people 13 to 26 “who quit buprenorphine within 3 to 9 months had an 82% higher risk of overdose compared to those who stayed on the med for a year. Likewise, those who stopped in less than 3 months had a 76% higher risk of overdose.” Researchers also found that it “mattered if patients took their buprenorphine as directed. Those who stayed on buprenorphine for a year but had spotty adherence had a 46% higher risk of OD, compared to those who stuck to their prescribed regular dose.” The study was published in Pediatrics.

Related Links:

— “Buprenorphine Lowers Opioid OD Risk, But Only If Taken As Directed Long-Term,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, November 20, 2025

HealthDay (11/20, Solomon) reports a study published in the Journal of Periodontology links antidepressant use “to a lower prevalence of periodontitis.” Investigators “found that the overall prevalence of periodontitis was 35.3 percent for moderate and 11.1 percent for severe cases, with antidepressant use associated with reduced odds of developing periodontitis across most definitions.” The identified “association was particularly strong for severe cases.”

Related Links:

— “Antidepressant Use Tied to Lower Prevalence of Periodontitis,”Lori Solomon, HealthDay, November 20, 2025

HealthDay (11/19, Thompson) reports a review published in Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy found that one in four “US service members and veterans who start psychotherapy for PTSD quit before they finish treatment.” The review also found that “trauma-focused approaches like exposure therapy and cognitive processing therapy tended to have higher dropout rates than approaches focusing on mindfulness, meditation and stress reduction.”

Related Links:

— “Some PTSD Therapy Approaches Prompt More Veterans To Flee Treatment,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, November 19, 2025

The American Journal of Managed Care (11/19, Steinzor) reports, “A new meta-analysis of 79 randomized trials reveals that while most users activate” mental health apps for depression and anxiety, “sustaining meaningful engagement remains challenging.” The analysis, published in JAMA Psychiatry, “identifies strategies – including reminders and human support – that can reduce dropout and improve adherence, providing evidence-based guidance for designing more effective digital mental health interventions.”

Related Links:

— “Addressing Uptake, Adherence, and Attrition in Mental Health Apps,”Pearl Steinzor, The American Journal of Managed Care , November 19, 2025

Neurology Advisor (11/18, Saha) reports a study found that “individuals with Alzheimer disease (AD) who also have depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) experience symptom onset several years earlier than those without psychiatric comorbidities.” Researchers observed that among study participants diagnosed with probable AD, “43.3% of patients had a history of depression, 32.3% had anxiety, and 1.0% had PTSD. Patients with these conditions experienced AD onset 2.2 years earlier (depression), 3.0 years earlier (anxiety), and 6.8 years earlier (PTSD) than those without them. A clear dose-response relationship was observed, in which having 1 psychiatric condition reduced the age at onset by 1.5 years, 2 conditions by 3.3 years, and 3 or more by 7.7 years.” A second cohort of participants from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) “reinforced these results. Participants with depression or anxiety developed AD 2.1 years earlier than those without either condition.” The study was published in Alzheimer’s & Dementia.

Related Links:

— “Psychiatric Comorbidities Associated With Earlier Onset of Alzheimer Disease,”Rajan Saha, Neurology Advisor , November 18, 2025

Psychiatric News (11/18) reports, “Mood-stabilizing medications vary in their dermatologic side effects, but severe dermatologic adverse events are rare,” according to findings from a meta-analysis published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research. Researchers found that “the most common dermatologic adverse event was rash, reported in 9.2% of patients who took lamotrigine, 6% who took carbamazepine, 2.9% who took valproate, and 1.3% who took lithium.”

Related Links:

— “Mood Stabilizers Vary in Skin Side Effects, but Severe Events Are Rare, Psychiatric News, November 18, 2025

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