MedPage Today (3/26, Henderson ) reports a new survey suggests that “physicians remain concerned about the state of U.S. healthcare,” but “fewer are considering leaving the profession.” The survey of 750 primary care physicians and 251 specialists “found that the proportion of participants indicating optimism for the future of U.S. healthcare was down to 29% from a high of 48% in 2022.” However, just 28% of respondents “reported weighing – once a week or more – whether to leave the profession, down from 36% a year ago. Another 68% reported looking forward to coming to work, and 53% reported feeling they have a good work/life balance.” In addition, “optimism was rated higher among physicians who viewed artificial intelligence (AI) as helping to reduce administrative burden, according to the survey.”

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (3/25, Schaffer ) reports data show that “women with polycystic ovary syndrome and a diagnosis of depression are 56% more likely to develop metabolic syndrome compared with women without depression, increasing their risk for type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.” Researchers said that the “findings suggest that all women with PCOS should be screened during a baseline visit for depression and anxiety, as recommended in the two most recent international PCOS guidelines.” They concluded, “We need to make all physicians aware that we need to screen women over time, because mental health is not static. If a woman has depression, then we might want to be more aggressive in managing their cardiometabolic risk.” The data were published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism.

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— “PCOS with diagnosed depression may signal greater cardiometabolic risk,” Regina Schaffer, Healio, March 25, 2025

Healio (3/25, Buzby ) reports, “Psychosocial stress, especially financial stress, was associated with increased odds of experiencing intracerebral hemorrhage, with a particularly strong effect among Black and Hispanic patients, researchers” found. The data indicated that “hypertension mediated some of the relationship between stress and intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH), but not all.” The findings were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

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— “Psychosocial stress possibly tied to stroke subtype,” Scott Buzby, Healio, March 25, 2025

HealthDay (3/24, Solomon ) reports a study found that “children exposed to maternal cannabis use disorder (CUD) during pregnancy and postpartum have an increased risk for later behavioral disorders.” Researchers discovered “significantly higher risks for disruptive behavioral disorders in children of mothers with CUD during the antenatal…perinatal…and postnatal…periods versus nonexposed dyads.” They concluded, “Cannabinoid ingredients can cross the placenta and enter breast milk, potentially affecting brain development.” The study was published in Psychiatry Research.

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— “Exposure to Maternal Cannabis Use Disorder Ups Risk for Youth Behavioral Disorders,” Lori Solomon, HealthDay, March 24, 2025

HealthDay (3/21, Thompson ) reported a new study suggests people who stay up late have “an increased risk of depression” because they have “worse sleep quality than average sleepers or morning birds, and they tended to consume more alcohol.” The study also “explored the potential role of mindfulness in depression risk among the late-night crowd, and found that it was a contributing factor.” Researchers wrote, “Morning types present with higher ‘acting with awareness’ because of their tendency to sleep better and therefore have a lower risk of fatigue, inattention and mind wandering during the day. On the other hand, evening chronotypes usually have poorer sleep quality, causing them to be more prone to daytime sleepiness and thus less awareness of the present moment.” The study was published in PLOS One.

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— “Why Are Night Owls Prone To Depression?,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, March 21, 2025

The Washington Post (3/22, Blakemore) reported, “Newly installed safety nets along San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge reduced suicides there by 73 percent, a new analysis suggests.” Researchers found that prior to “erecting a continuous stainless-steel barrier on both sides of the bridge” in 2024, “there were 2.48 suicide deaths per month at the bridge. The number dropped to 1.83 suicides per month during the installation period and 0.67 suicides per month after installation, the researchers found – a 73 percent reduction from preinstallation.” The results provide “early but clear evidence that the safety nets are associated with an immediate and substantial reduction in suicides” at the Golden Gate Bridge, researchers conclude. The analysis was published in Injury Prevention.

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Healio (3/20, Schaffer ) reports a study found that “risk for moderate to severe depressive symptoms during pregnancy varied widely across 20 different racial and ethnic groups, suggesting women from different cultural backgrounds view and report depression symptoms differently.” Researchers found that “the prevalence of prenatal depression diagnoses ranged from 4.7% among Hmong Chinese women to 26.7% among Puerto Rican women, whereas depressive symptoms ranged from 7.5% among Japanese women to 17.3% among Black women.” Researchers concluded this “is a reminder of the importance of culturally relevant care, especially regarding pregnancy and mental health conditions.” The findings were published in a research letter in JAMA Network Open.

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— “Prenatal depression ‘presents differently across cultures,’ warranting tailored care,” Regina Schaffer, Healio, March 21, 2025

Healio (3/20, Mahoney ) reports a study found that “individuals in Canada who received hospital care for hallucinogen use had greater 5-year mortality risk, especially from suicide, compared with the general population.” Researchers determined that, “compared with the matched general population, the hallucinogen group appeared more likely to live in low-income neighborhoods, have several chronic conditions, and have received outpatient mental health care or acute care for substance use or a mental disorder in the past 3 years.” Furthermore, “a greater proportion of individuals in the hallucinogen group died” within five years “compared with the general population group (6.1% vs. 0.6%), equating to a 9.7-fold greater increase.” Based on the results, the researchers “theorized that hallucinogen use in vulnerable people in nonmedical settings may increase suicide risk or lead to the development of severe mental illnesses.” The study was published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

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— “Receipt of acute care for hallucinogen use predicts greater mortality risk within 5 years,” Moira Mahoney, Healio, March 20, 2025

Psychiatric News (3/20) reports a study found that “fewer than half [of] the claims about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the most popular TikTok videos on the topic were clinically accurate,” but “young adults, particularly those who diagnosed themselves with ADHD, reported that they were likely to recommend these videos to others as ADHD psychoeducation.” Two clinical psychologists analyzed 100 of the “most popular TikTok videos on a single day that included the hashtag #ADHD.” They found “there was 84.8% agreement between the two psychologists about the videos, and only 48.7% of the claims made in the videos were considered accurate by at least one of them.” The study was published in PLOS One.

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— “TikTok ADHD Content Receives Millions of Views but Is Accurate Less Than Half the Time,” Psychiatric News, March 20, 2025

Reuters (3/20, Respaut ) reports the federal government eliminated about 2,400 jobs at the Department of Veterans Affairs “in the first wave of President Donald Trump’s efforts to shrink the federal workforce.” The Trump Administration “plans additional cuts to the VA of more than 80,000 personnel, according to an internal memo.” Reuters spoke to nine current and former VA employees “who said the changes were further disrupting some mental health services and fueling anxieties among those who provide and rely on them.” The employees “described cancellations of some in-person and telehealth appointments; confusion over staffing of a crisis hot-line; and professionals conducting telehealth visits in makeshift meeting rooms inside VA buildings.” A spokesperson for the VA “told Reuters mental health professionals…were not included in February’s staffing cuts, and the agency is working to recruit mental health [professionals] and improve wait times.”

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— “VA shake-up hits mental health services for US veterans,” Robin Respaut, Reuters, March 20, 2025