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.

Related Links:

— 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.”

Related Links:

— “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

NBC News (4/8, Sullivan) reports research found that “regular exercise and about seven hours of sleep a night could protect brain health in the long term,” while “long bouts of sedentary behavior may increase dementia risk.” Simple lifestyle changes may “reduce a person’s risk of late-onset dementia by as much as 25%, according to the study.” A person’s overall Alzheimer’s disease risk is about 11%, but “with the suggested changes in lifestyle, the average person’s risk decreases to about 8%.” The study found that “breaking up longer periods of sitting had the greatest effect.” The findings were published in PLOS One.

Related Links:

— “These simple lifestyle changes could decrease dementia risk by 25%,”Kaitlin Sullivan, NBC News, April 8, 2026

MedPage Today (4/8, George) reports a study found that “the number of U.S. patients prescribed long-term opioid therapy declined from 2015 to 2023, but co-prescribing of opioids with gabapentinoids increased.” Researchers found that in “2023, 4.2 million people had an active long-term opioid therapy episode, defined as a period of opioid dispensing lasting at least 90 days. This represents a 24.3% drop from 5.6 million people in 2015.” Across the same time period, “co-prescribing of opioids with gabapentinoids (e.g., gabapentin and pregabalin) rose substantially, from 47% in 2015 to 58.7% in 2023. Stimulant co-prescriptions increased from 5.9% to 6.7%, while benzodiazepine co-prescribing decreased from 43.8% to 33.5%. Additionally, between 2015 and 2023, the mean age of patients with long-term opioid therapy increased from 52.5 to 60.5 years.” Researchers concluded, “Because older adults are at higher risk of adverse events from polypharmacy, the increased rate of co-prescribing, particularly with gabapentinoids, raises additional safety concerns.” The study was discussed in a JAMA research letter.

The American Journal of Managed Care (4/8, Shaw) adds that the “demographics of who stays on opioids for the long term have shifted significantly. The mean (SD) patient age climbed from 52.5 (12.9) years in 2015 to 60.5 (12.4) years in 2023. The share of patients aged 65 and older more than doubled, rising from 17.0% to 38.8%. An increase was also seen in patients aged 55 to 64 years, from 25.5% to 27.5.” An encouraging sign is that “average daily dosing fell, from a mean (SD) of 47.9 (71.3) morphine milligram equivalents per day in 2015 to 38.6 (50.6) in 2023.”

Psychiatric News (4/8) also provides coverage.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)