HealthDay (8/14, Solomon) reports a study found that “a mobile phone app designed to deliver suicide-specific therapy reduces suicidal behavior among high-risk psychiatric inpatients.” The researchers evaluated the efficacy of OTX-202, a smartphone-based digital therapeutic intervention that delivers “suicide-focused cognitive behavioral therapy in reducing suicidal behavior among patients hospitalized for a suicide attempt or suicidal ideation.”

They found that “time to first actual suicide attempt (the primary end point) was not significantly different across treatment groups. Among the 170 participants with prior suicide attempts, the adjusted rate of follow-up suicide attempts was 58.3% lower in the digital therapeutic group versus the control application group and the odds of clinical improvement were higher in the digital therapeutic group than the control application group.”

They also observed “decreased suicidal ideation through week 24 in the digital therapeutic group, while suicidal ideation decreased through week 12 and then increased at week 24 in the control group.” The study was published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “Suicide-Specific Therapy App Effectively Cuts Suicidal Behavior in High-Risk Inpatients,” Lori Solomon, HealthDay, August 14, 2025

Psychiatric News (8/14) reports a study found that US adults “with depression had a 29% increased risk of developing asthma compared with those without depression.” According to the unadjusted analysis, “researchers found that U.S. adults with depression were twice as likely to develop asthma compared with those without depression, while English adults had a 75% greater risk. The increased risk remained significant even after researchers adjusted for confounding variables, such as differences in demographics, smoking, drinking, body mass index (BMI), and serious chronic illnesses.” In addition, researchers found “a positive genetic correlation between depression and asthma as well as a genetically predicted causal effect of depression on asthma, indicating that depression could be a potential risk factor for asthma.” The study was published in BMC Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Association between depression and asthma: insight from observational and genetic evidence,” Tanao Ji, Yue Lv, Jianan Yang, Xianping Diao & Jun Gu, BMC Psychiatry, August 12, 2025

HealthDay (8/13, Solomon) reports, “A woman’s sense of mental well-being is the strongest predictor of how fearful she is about childbirth, according to a study.” The researchers found that “there was a negative correlation between fear of childbirth and mental well-being, childbirth self-efficacy expectancy, and self-efficacy outcome.” Study results indicate that “higher mental well-being…was the strongest predictor of lower fear of childbirth. Childbirth self-efficacy expectancy also contributed significantly.” The findings were published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Related Links:

— “Higher Mental Well-Being Tied to Lower Fear of Childbirth,” Lori Solomon, Health Day, August 13, 2025

MedPage Today (8/13, Firth) reports, “Smokers with substance use disorders (SUDs) who quit cigarettes were more likely to report recovery from their other addiction, according to a nationally representative cohort study.” Among over “2,600 individuals followed for 4 years, a fully adjusted model showed that a change in smoking status from ‘current’ to ‘former’ was associated with a 30% increase in the likelihood of SUD recovery…reported” the researchers. The “association held up in sensitivity analyses as well, including in a second cohort, the findings” showed. The findings were published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

The AP (8/13, Sanders) reports, “Fewer Americans are reporting that they drink alcohol amid a growing belief that even moderate alcohol consumption is a health risk, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday.”

The poll found that “a record high percentage of U.S. adults, 53%, now say moderate drinking is bad for their health, up from 28% in 2015.” The rise “in doubt about alcohol’s benefits is largely driven by young adults – the age group that is most likely to believe drinking ‘one or two drinks a day’ can cause health hazards – but older adults are also now increasingly likely to think moderate drinking carries risks.”

Also reporting are Reuters (8/13, Mishra) and The Hill (8/13, Waldvogel).

Related Links:

— “Why many Americans are rethinking alcohol, according to a new Gallup poll,” Linley Sanders, Associated Press, August 13, 2025

Managed Healthcare Executive (8/12, Lutton) reports healthcare professionals “cite medication prior authorization as an ongoing barrier to patient care, according to the results of a Surescripts survey published [Tuesday]. However, this frustration is expressed alongside optimism, with nearly all respondents willing to adopt new technologies such as automatic prior authorization submission to improve access to timely treatment.” The online survey of 253 prescribers and 250 pharmacists took place from May 28 to June 16, 2025.

Related Links:

— “Pharmacists, Prescribers Express Ongoing Concern About Medication Prior Authorization Struggles In Survey,”Logan Lutton, Managed Healthcare Executive, August 12, 2025

MedPage Today (8/12, George) reports a study found that “men had higher mortality and hospitalization rates after a dementia diagnosis compared with women, even after controlling for age and comorbidities.” Researchers observed that “crude 1-year mortality rates were lower for women with incident dementia compared with men (21.8% vs 27.2%). After adjusting for age, race, ethnicity, Medicaid dual eligibility, medical comorbidity burden, and access to healthcare resources, the hazard of death associated with male sex was 1.24.” They added that “all-cause hospitalizations were lower for women with newly diagnosed dementia (46.9% vs 50.5%). The adjusted hazard ratio of hospitalization associated with male sex was 1.08.” Furthermore, men “had higher rates of hospice stay, neuroimaging services, and hospitalization for neurodegenerative disease diagnoses.” The study was published in JAMA Neurology.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Reuters (8/11, Erman, Rigby) reports the Annals of Internal Medicine “is rejecting a call from” the HHS Secretary “to retract a large Danish study that found that aluminum ingredients in vaccines do not increase health risks for children.” The study “analyzed nationwide registry data for more than 1.2 million children over more than two decades. It did not find evidence that exposure to aluminum in vaccines had caused an increased risk for autoimmune, atopic or allergic, or neurodevelopmental disorders.” In an interview with Reuters, Dr. Christine Laine, editor in chief of the Annals and a professor of medicine at Thomas Jefferson University, said, “I see no reason for retraction.”

Related Links:

— “Exclusive: Medical journal rejects Kennedy’s call for retraction of vaccine study,” Michael Erman and Jennifer Rigby , Reuters, August 11, 2025

USA Today (8/11, Wire) reports President Trump said during a Monday news conference that his Administration is considering reclassifying marijuana as a less dangerous drug “over the next few weeks.” USA Today notes that “45 states have legalized the use of marijuana for medicinal or recreational use,” but the federal government “still classifies it as a Schedule I drug,” which is “defined as highly dangerous, addictive and without medical use.” Reclassifying marijuana would mark the “biggest change in marijuana policy the federal government has taken since the drug was first outlawed, but it would not make recreational usage legal under federal law.”

Related Links:

— “Trump says he’s looking at reclassifying marijuana at federal level, “Sarah D. Wire , USA TODAY, August 11, 2025

The New York Times (8/9, Span) reported an analysis of 57 studies published in Nature Human Behaviour suggests that the use of everyday digital technology has been associated with reduced risk of cognitive impairment and dementia in older adults. Researchers observed that people over 50 “who used computers, smartphones, the internet or a mix did better on cognitive tests, with lower rates of cognitive impairment or dementia diagnoses, than those who avoided technology or used it less often.” Almost 90% of the studies analyzed “found that technology had a protective cognitive effect.” When researchers “accounted for health, education, socioeconomic status and other demographic variables, they still found significantly higher cognitive ability among older digital technology users.” Furthermore, digital technology “may also protect brain health by fostering social connections, known to help stave off cognitive decline.”

Related Links:

— The New York Times (requires login and subscription)