Psychiatric News (7/31) reports a study found that “nearly half of individuals who develop catatonia – a neuropsychiatric syndrome marked by abnormal speech and movements – will experience a relapse within a few years.” Considering this, “providing antipsychotics at discharge can reduce relapse risk.” The researchers “examined medical records of 303 patients who were treated for catatonia at a neuropsychiatric center in India between January 2014 and December 2017 and came back for at least one follow-up visit by December 2020.” They found that “48.8% of the patients experienced catatonia relapse, with most events occurring within the first two years after the initial episode.” They observed that “patients who received an antipsychotic prescription at discharge had a 41% reduced risk of relapse compared with those who did not; this reduced risk was present in patients with or without a prior history of catatonia.” The study was published in JAMA Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Antipsychotics May Reduce Risk of Catatonia Relapse, Psychiatric News, July 31, 2025

HealthDay (7/29, Solomon) reports a study found that “people with any type of substance use disorder (SUD) face a higher risk for having an unplanned, 30-day hospital readmission compared with those without SUD.” Researchers observed that “patients with any SUD and patients specifically with opioid use disorder were more likely to have a 30-day unplanned readmission versus patients without SUDs. After adjusting for covariates, only patients with SUDs discharged to home or self-care had a higher risk for unplanned readmission. Among patients who eloped or who were discharged to a home health service or an inpatient facility, there was no association between SUD and 30-day unplanned readmission.” The study was published in Addiction.

Related Links:

— “Substance Use Disorder Linked to Higher Risk for Unplanned Readmissions,”
Lori Solomon, HealthDay , July 29, 2025

Stateline (7/29, Hassanein) says that a new report found that “only a dozen states have laws establishing suicide prevention offices or coordinators, and just 11 have task forces or committees dedicated to suicide prevention efforts.” The report, conducted by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials with support from the CDC, “comes amid sweeping cuts at federal agencies that offer mental health support,” such as the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). It notes that “about 60% of states – 29 states and Washington, D.C. – have laws that establish some form of fatality review committees that specifically include suicide deaths in reviews. Areas of focus varied among the states. Some had statewide teams and others were on the local level, according to the report.”

Related Links:

— “State suicide prevention efforts are lacking amid federal cuts,” Nada Hassanein, Stateline, July 29, 2025

HealthDay (7/29, Mundell) reports a meta-analysis found “that, overall, it takes an average of three-and-a-half years after symptoms first appear for a patient to be properly diagnosed with dementia. That lag stretched to just over four years when the person was younger and experiencing early-onset dementia, the researchers said.” They noted that “younger age, as well having a form of illness known as frontotemporal dementia, were each linked to a longer time to diagnosis.” A study included in the analysis “also found that Black patients faced longer wait times to a dementia diagnosis.” The analysis was published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Dementia Diagnosis Typically Comes 3.5 Years After Symptoms,”Ernie Mundell , HealthDay , July 29, 2025

Modern Healthcare (7/28, Tepper, Subscription Publication) reports CMS “wants to take another crack at creating a national provider directory in an effort to replace insurance company lists.” Officials “touted the idea at a meeting with health information technology executives in June,” and in a later post on X, “CMS described its goal as a ‘dynamic, interoperable directory that connects the data CMS has with what the industry knows, so we all work from the same map.’” According to Modern Healthcare, a national provider directory would ideally “ease a major pain point for patients and reduce administrative costs for health insurance companies, providers and government health programs.”

Related Links:

— “CMS inches toward establishing national provider directory,”Nona Tepper, Modern Healthcare, July 28, 2025

HealthDay (7/28, Gotkine) reports a study found that “only 36.8 percent of adolescents diagnosed with cannabis use disorder (CUD) complete treatment.” The researchers “used data from the 2018 to 2021 Treatment Episode Data Set-Discharges, which included 40,054 adolescents diagnosed with CUD, to examine treatment outcomes and factors associated with treatment completion.” They found that “36.8 percent of adolescents completed treatment. Dropping out and transferring to another facility/program were the most common reasons for not completing treatment (28.4 and 17.0 percent, respectively). Male adolescents had a lower likelihood of completing treatment versus female adolescents.” The study was published in Pediatric Reports.

Related Links:

— “Only 36.8 Percent of Teens With Cannabis Use Disorder Complete Treatment,”
Elana Gotkine, HealthDay , July 28, 2025

Psychiatric News (7/25) reported a systemic review and meta-analysis found that “people who walked more were less likely to die of any cause or contract a number of serious health outcomes, including depression and dementia.” Investigators “identified 57 studies published between January 2014 and February 2025 involving adults who used devices to assess their daily step counts.” They observed that “compared with 2,000 steps per day, 7,000 steps per day was associated with a 22% lower risk of depressive symptoms and a 38% lower risk of dementia. In addition, the higher step count was also associated with a 47% lower risk of all-cause mortality, a 37% lower risk of cancer mortality, a 25% lower risk of cardiovascular disease incidence, and a 14% lower risk of type 2 diabetes.” Furthermore, researchers “found that even modest step counts of 4,000 steps per day were linked to better health compared with 2,000 steps per day.” The review was published in The Lancet Public Health.

Related Links:

— “Just 7,000 Steps a Day Lowers Risk of Depression, Dementia, Mortality, Psychiatric News, July 25, 2025

Multiple Sclerosis News Today (7/24, Wexler ) reports, “Multiple sclerosis (MS) may increase the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new analysis of genetic data.” The analysis’ “findings indicate genetic changes that influence the activity of immune T-cells may play a role in both MS and Alzheimer’s.” The findings were published in Neurodegenerative Disease Management.

Related Links:

— “Mental Health Care Use, Mortality Rates Increased With Prolonged Grief,” Marisa Wexler, Multiple Sclerosis News Today, July 24, 2025

The Washington Post (7/24, Ovalle ) reports President “Trump directed federal agencies to find ways to make it easier to forcibly hospitalize homeless people with mental illness and addiction for longer periods – an effort to fight what the administration calls ‘vagrancy’ threatening the streets of U.S. cities.” The “executive order signed Thursday pushes federal agencies to overturn state and federal legal precedent that limits how local and state governments can involuntarily commit people who pose a risk to themselves or others.”

Related Links:

— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

MedPage Today (7/23, Lou ) reports, “Study after study, higher daily step counts were shown to track with better health outcomes, even well below the oft-touted target of 10,000 steps.” A “meta-analysis of studies published since 2014” found that “increasing daily step counts above 2,000 was associated with a risk reduction.” Researchers found that “there was a significant reduction in risks of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease incidence, dementia, and falls in people logging more steps; these outcomes were best around 5,000 to 7,000 steps per day, with no extra benefit beyond that range.” The findings were published in The Lancet Public Health.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)