Psychiatric News (1/22) reports a study found that “just one-quarter of intensive eating disorder treatment facilities – such as inpatient hospitals or residential programs – accept Medicaid,” while “more than 90% of these facilities accept private insurance.” For the study, “384 eating disorder centers offering intensive outpatient care, partial or full hospitalization, and/or residential treatment care were identified across 45 states and the District of Columbia. Of these, 101 (26.3%) located across 35 states accepted Medicaid. In contrast, 94% of eating disorder centers accepted private insurance, while 6% accepted no insurance. Medicaid acceptance was highest (64%) at treatment centers that offered inpatient care.” Notably, among treatment centers operated by one of six large chains, “just 13% accepted Medicaid.” The study was published in Psychiatric Services.

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— “Intensive Eating Disorder Treatment Out-of-Reach for Many Medicaid Beneficiaries , Psychiatric News , January 22, 2026

The Washington Post (1/22, Johnson) reports, “Obesity in midlife may cause vascular dementia later in life by raising blood pressure over decades and quietly damaging brain vessels, according to new research released Thursday.” The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, found that “having a higher body mass index increases the risk of vascular dementia by roughly 50 to 60 percent.” An association between dementia and obesity “has long been the subject of study, and the new research strongly indicates there is indeed a link.”
        
ABC News (1/22, Cobern, Charles) reports the study provides “the strongest evidence to date showing a direct relationship between BMI and the increased risk of developing vascular dementia, a risk heavily influenced by elevated blood pressure.” Investigators “say these findings highlight how important reducing these risk factors are to help prevent this form of dementia and protect brain health.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (1/21, Thompson) reports a study found that lesbian or bisexual women “had a 38% higher likelihood of alcohol being involved in their death by suicide compared to heterosexual women,” and were “more likely to be intoxicated at the time of their death.” The researchers “analyzed data collected by the federal National Violent Death Reporting System between 2013 and 2021. The data involved nearly 219,000 people who died by suicide, including 3,425 LGB people.” The results indicated “that LGB women had a 15% higher likelihood of detectable blood alcohol content following their death by suicide. They also were 17% more likely to be intoxicated when they” died by “suicide, researchers found.” Researchers noted they “found no similar association among gay or bisexual men when it comes to alcohol and suicide.” The study was discussed in a JAMA Network Open research letter.

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— “Alcohol Tied To Suicide Risk Among Lesbian, Bisexual Women,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, January 21, 2026

MedPage Today (1/21, Jeffrey) reports a survey study found that “regular use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) was associated with greater levels of depressive symptoms.” Researchers observed that “in sociodemographic-adjusted regression models, daily use of AI was associated with greater levels of depressive symptoms as measured by the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire, as was use multiple times per day, compared with no use.” They also found that greater AI use was “associated with a higher likelihood of reporting at least moderate depressive symptoms, that clinicians would typically refer for evaluation and treatment.” The study was published in JAMA Network Open.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (1/20) reports a study found there is “no significant association between the presence of a recovery residence for people with substance use disorder (SUD) and nearby property values.” The researchers used “publicly available data from census tracts in Texas” to determine that “the median home value was between $12,000 and $39,000 higher on tracts with a recovery residence compared with nearby tracts without a recovery residence, depending on the comparison method used.” Additionally, “tracts with recovery residences also had a slightly higher mean number of housing units, higher Social Vulnerability Index scores, and larger total population sizes.” With that said, the researchers noted the “study focused on Texas and may not be generalizable to other states with different housing markets or policy environments.” The study was published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence.

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— “Recovery Residences Do Not Affect Property Values, Psychiatric News, January 20, 2026

The New York Times (1/20, Branch) reports San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge “has been the site of more than 2,000 confirmed suicide leaps since its completion in 1937.” Starting in 2018, workers began assembling “a complicated, miles-long series of stainless-steel nets” on both sides of the bridge to act as a “suicide deterrent system.” In 2024, “as the final pieces of the net were installed and tweaks were made, there were eight. In 2025, the first full year with the nets in place, there were four, and none between June and December. That annual total is surely among the fewest ever recorded at the bridge, and seven months might be the longest stretch without a suicide at the bridge, though early records are sparse.”

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— The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (1/16) reported, “Individuals who have suffered a traumatic injury have a nine-fold higher risk of suicide at two years post-injury compared to those in the general population, according to a study.” This “discrepancy suggests that patients with traumatic injuries should receive more comprehensive follow-up after discharge, the study’s researchers said.” The investigators said, “We found that many patients with suicide had post discharge visits with mental health problems, allowing health care professionals an opportunity to possibly intervene. … Some health care professionals suggest viewing traumatic injury as a chronic medical condition to facilitate a more holistic approach.” The findings were published in JAMA Network Open.

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— “Traumatic Injury Significantly Increases Suicide Risk, Study Shows, Psychiatric News, January 16, 2026

The New York Times (1/16, Ghorayshi) reports that a “scientific review of 43 studies on acetaminophen use during pregnancy concluded that there was no evidence that the painkiller increased the risk of autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders.” Prior studies “have examined a possible link between acetaminophen in pregnancy and a risk of neurodevelopmental disorders have produced conflicting data, with some finding no connection and others finding small increases in risk.” However, Dr. Asma Khalil, a professor of obstetrics and maternal fetal medicine at St. George’s Hospital, University of London, and the lead author of the review published in The Lancet Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Women’s Health, said, “We found no clinically important increase in the risk of autism, A.D.H.D. or intellectual disability.” Khalil reiterated that acetaminophen remains “the first-line treatment that we would recommend if the pregnant women have pain or fever in pregnancy.”

The AP (1/16, Ungar) reported the research review “looked at 43 studies and concluded that the most rigorous ones, such as those that compare siblings, provide strong evidence that taking the drug…does not cause autism, ADHD or intellectual disabilities.”

NBC News (1/16, Bendix) added that the “authors said they undertook the research, in part, to clear up confusion after” the President and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “announced in September that women should avoid Tylenol during pregnancy due to what they described as a link to autism.”

Also reporting were Reuters (1/17, Rigby), CNN (1/16, Howard), and MedPage Today (1/16, George).

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— The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

NBC News (1/15, Lovelace, Lebowitz ) reports the Department of Health and Human Services “is reinstating $2 billion in funds to address substance abuse and mental health after the department said it would cancel funds the day before.” Wednesday’s reinstatement came “after groups were informed Tuesday of the funding cuts, which were associated with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.” The initial cancellation “prompted pushback from physicians and behavioral health advocates.”

NPR (1/15, Mann ) adds that an Administration official “confirmed to NPR that the cuts, first announced by” SAMHSA, “were being reversed. They asked not to be identified because they didn’t have permission to speak publicly about the decision. They said all of the roughly 2,000 organizations affected by the whiplash series of events were being notified that full funding would be restored.”

The AP (1/15, Swenson) reports the reversal “builds on what program directors say has become a pattern of uncertainty from this administration, which has repeatedly canceled millions of dollars in federal funding without notice and at times reversed course in decisions about what will and won’t be covered.”

Related Links:

— “HHS quickly reverses $2 billion in mental health and substance abuse cuts after pushback,”Berkeley Lovelace Jr. and Megan Lebowitz , NBC News, January 15, 2026

The AP (1/14, Stobbe) reports new federal data released Wednesday show “that overdose deaths have been falling for more than two years – the longest drop in decades – but also that the decline was slowing.” According to CDC data, “an estimated 73,000 people died from overdoses in the 12-month period that ended August 2025, down about 21% from the 92,000 in the previous 12-month period.” CDC officials also “reported that deaths were down in all states except Arizona, Hawaii, Kansas, New Mexico and North Dakota. But they noted it’s likely that not all overdose deaths have been reported yet in every state, and additional data in the future might affect that state count.” Researchers cannot yet “say with confidence why deaths have gone down,” but possible explanations include “increased availability of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, expanded addiction treatment, shifts in how people use drugs, and the growing impact of billions of dollars in opioid lawsuit settlement money.”

Related Links:

— “US overdose deaths fell through most of 2025, federal data reveals,”Mike Stobbe , AP, January 14, 2026