HealthDay (4/14, Solomon) reports a study found that “children exposed to prenatal maternal smoking are more likely to experience behavioral and mental health challenges.” The researchers observed that “maternal tobacco smoking during pregnancy predicted differentiation toward externalizing problems in children aged 1 to 2 years through 7 to 8 years and children aged 13 to 14 years. Effects were similar for boys and girls. Across all ages, maternal tobacco smoking during pregnancy predicted higher symptom severity.” The researchers noted that “prenatal smoking exposure was also associated with a greater likelihood of having multiple mental health or behavioral symptoms.” The study was published in Development and Psychopathology.

Related Links:

— “Prenatal Maternal Smoking Linked to Behavioral Health Challenges in Offspring,”Lori Solomon, HealthDay, April 14, 2026

Fierce Healthcare (4/14, Gliadkovskaya) reports the surge in “all gaming segments,” including casinos, sports betting, online games, and prediction markets, is “creating an addiction crisis yet to be widely recognized by the public, policymakers and the healthcare sector, experts caution. Current national problem gambling prevalence is unknown due to a lack of research and funding dedicated to the issue.” Experts believe “those most at risk include young adults, men and online gamblers. Gambling-related harms can be dire, from financial stress to co-occurring behavioral health conditions to suicide, which a fifth of individuals with gambling addiction attempt.” Fierce Healthcare “talked to two dozen [healthcare professionals], researchers, advocates and regulators” about “problem gambling, what’s driving it and efforts underway to address it.” Regardless of the true prevalence of gambling disorder, “a fraction of cases actually show up in clinical settings,” as “most [healthcare professionals] are not screening for problem gambling, much less diagnosing gambling disorder.” Notably, “federal funding for gambling disorder has been all but nonexistent,” meaning that “prevention and treatment, like legalization, has thus far been up to states.”

Related Links:

— “‘The next opioid epidemic’: Gambling legalization outpaces public health response to addiction,”Anastassia Gliadkovskaya, Fierce Healthcare, April 14, 2026

MedPage Today (4/13, Clark) reports, “Persistence in appealing denied health insurance claims resulted in overturned decisions between 30% and 78% percent of the time, when the case reached independent review organizations (IROs), an analysis of completed external appeals showed.” The analysis indicated that “among 51,394 closed cases in New York state from May 31, 2019 to Dec. 10, 2025, almost half (46.7%) of external appeals were overturned at this third level of appeal, which often involves independent physicians and other specialists.” The findings were published in a research letter in JAMA Internal Medicine.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

NBC News (4/13, Edwards, Özcan) reports a long-term study found that “tests of intelligence and brain function showed the same results whether or not people drank fluoridated water growing up.” The new research “is the first to measure community water fluoridation exposure during childhood in the U.S. and any potential impact on cognition up to age 80.” The researchers followed 10,317 people in Wisconsin “since they graduated from high school in 1957.” Ultimately, researchers “found no difference, at any stage of life, between people who grew up with water fluoridation in Wisconsin and those who did not.” Opponents of water fluoridation “have often pointed to small studies that suggested a possible link between the mineral and kids’ IQ. Those studies were conducted in China or other countries with much higher fluoride concentrations than allowed in the U.S.” These results notably “contradict claims made by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that fluoride is ‘industrial waste’ associated with IQ loss.” The study was published in PNAS.
        
Psychiatric News (4/13) adds that researchers observed “no differences in average IQ scores at age 16 among any of the four groups after adjusting for sociodemographic or school-level variables. Similar findings were seen when examining children who lived in the same county their whole childhood (to ensure more consistent fluoride exposure).”

Related Links:

— “Fluoride in drinking water has no effect on IQ or brain function, long-term study shows,” Erika Edwards and Kaan Ozcan, NBC News, April 13, 2026

The AP (4/13, Shastri) reports CDC data show that the US “has a mental health problem,” with more young people, especially girls, “reporting poor mental health.” According to the AP, “mental health crises can happen abruptly or build to a tipping point over time.” Whatever the cause, “experts say the best thing to do is to spark a conversation as early as possible and connect to a broader support system.” Dr. Theresa Miskimen Rivera, president of the American Psychiatric Association, explained that crises can begin when someone is feeling depressed or anxious but is unable to pinpoint the cause. Other signs may include engaging less socially, not enjoying things they used to like, sleep irregularities, decreased hygiene, increased mood swings, greater use of drugs or alcohol, or feelings of “hopelessness, wanting to die or kill themselves, having no reason to live.” Experts say “if you see these changes, it’s time for a conversation.”

Related Links:

— “How to spot and help someone in a mental health crisis,”Devi Shastri, AP, April 13, 2026

Pulmonology Advisor (4/10, Goldberg) reported a study found that “inhaling marijuana via smoking or vaping is associated with a significantly greater risk for asthma attacks among young adults in the United States.” Researchers observed that “compared with non-marijuana users, individuals who reported using marijuana in the 12 months prior to baseline had greater odds of reporting an asthma attack across the next year. This included those who used electronic products only (odds ratio [OR], 1.81), those who inhaled combustible marijuana products only (OR, 1.64), and those using both electronic and combustible products (OR, 1.57). Notably, for every point higher on the ACT, participants were less apt to report asthma attacks in the next year (OR, 0.91).” The studywas published in Chest.

Related Links:

— “Inhaled Marijuana Use Linked to Increased Asthma Attack Risk in Young Adults,”Ron Goldberg, Pulmonology Advisor, April 10, 2026

Psychiatric News (4/10) reported a study found that “digital addiction among health care professionals was significantly associated with higher rates of anxiety, depression, and stress.” For the study, “researchers surveyed 371 health professionals from two hospitals in Turkey.” The participants used digital devices “an average of 4.4 hours per day, with 65% using them for social media platforms.” Researchers observed that “higher digital addiction scores were associated with more loneliness, anxiety, depression, and stress. Duration of digital device use was the strongest predictor of digital addiction. Similarly, higher loneliness scores were associated with higher digital addiction scores and more hours spent on digital devices. Together, loneliness and digital addiction explained 21% to 23% of the variance in anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms among participants.” The study was published in BMC Psychology.

Related Links:

— “Digital Addiction Associated With Depression, Anxiety Among Clinicians, Psychiatric News , April 10, 2026

The Washington Post (4/9, Cha) reports, “A growing body of research links heavy social media use not only to declines in mental health but to measurable cognitive effects – on attention, memory and focus – that in some studies resemble accelerated aging.” However, “science also suggests we have more control than we realize when it comes to reversing this damage, and the solution is surprisingly simple: Take a break.” In a study“published in PNAS Nexus and involving more than 467 participants with an average age of 32, even a short time” without Internet access on their phones “produced striking results – effectively erasing a decade of age-related cognitive decline.” The study participants’ “time online decreased from 314 minutes to 161 minutes, and by the end of the period the participants had improvements in sustained attention, mental health as well as self-reported well-being.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (4/9) reports a study found that patients with mental illness “who have severe symptoms or a co-occurring substance use disorder can benefit just as well as their peers from supported employment programs like individual placement services (IPS).” The researchers “analyzed employment trajectories among 1,656 participants in a randomized controlled trial of enhanced IPS services that measured employment, health, and quality-of-life outcomes over three years.” They observed that “individuals who had a history of employment and/or higher educational attainment were much more likely to experience a positive work trajectory (going from low to high employment or staying consistently high). In contrast, individuals approved for disability benefits were more likely to have consistently low employment.” The researchers concluded “that policy and programmatic efforts should focus on early, sustained educational and vocational support, particularly for youths with mental disorders.” The study was published in Psychiatric Services.

Related Links:

— “Psychiatric Symptom Severity or Presence of SUD Doesn’t Limit Success of Employment Services, Psychiatric News, April 9, 2026

HealthDay (4/7, Thompson) reports a study found that “preschool and kindergarten kids with up to a half-hour daily of unsupervised screen time wind up with poorer communication skills and a lower vocabulary.” According to researchers, “kids who averaged 10 to 30 minutes of solitary screen time a day tended to have worse language skills and were more apt to have problems with their conduct and emotions.” They noted that young children “pick up language from in-person interactions,” and that “video screens simply can’t replace the language exposure and social experience kids gain when they play and engage with peers.” The study was published in Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology.

Related Links:

— “Preschoolers’ Solitary Screen Time Could Mean Behavior Problems, Language Difficulties Later On,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, April 7, 2026