Politico (12/29, Ollstein, Fertig) reports, “At least a dozen states are working to shield people from soaring health insurance costs following Congress’ failure to extend” Affordable Care Act “subsidies for tens of millions of Americans.” These “efforts, which include actions taken by state leaders in California, Colorado and Maryland, in nearly every case come with a major caveat: They will only be able to help a portion of the people whose health insurance will be too expensive without the enhanced subsidies that Congress opted not to renew before leaving Washington for the year.”

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— “States step into the breach as Obamacare subsidies lapse,”Alice Miranda Ollstein and Natalie Fertig , Politico, December 29, 2025

Psychiatric News (12/24) reported a study found that “individuals between the ages of 25 and 64 who are on Medicaid had a higher rate of suicide in 2020 than people in that age group in the general population.” Based on Medicaid enrollment data and the CDC National Death Index, “9,401 Medicaid beneficiaries died by suicide in 2020, accounting for 20.4% of all suicide deaths in the United States and 2.1% of all deaths among Medicaid beneficiaries. Among individuals ages 25 to 64, there were 21.1 suicide deaths per 100,000 people for Medicaid beneficiaries compared with 17.6 suicide deaths for all U.S. residents.” Researchers said the finding “is consistent with the theory that job insecurity and associated economic stress may place Medicaid beneficiaries at heightened suicide risk.” The study was published in Psychiatric Services.

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— “Medicaid Enrollees of Working Age at Higher Risk of Suicide,Psychiatric News , December 24, 2025

The Washington Post (12/28, Cha, Malhi) reports an “analysis of more than 10,500 children across 21 U.S. sites,” published in Pediatrics, “found that those who received phones at age 12, compared with age 13, had a more than 60 percent higher risk of poor sleep and a more than 40 percent higher risk of obesity.” This comes as “a wave of large-scale studies is quantifying how early smartphone access and heavy screen use can harm adolescent minds.” Across “studies, high levels of screen use are linked to measurable declines in cognitive performance,” and “rates of depression and anxiety climb steadily with heavier social media engagement.” Furthermore, “sleep quality deteriorates…and researchers are finding troubling associations between screen habits and rising adolescent weight gain.” The debate is now “shifting from one about whether screens have an impact – to one about how far-reaching that impact might be.”

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

Psychiatric News (12/23) reports a systematic review and meta-analysis of 25 trials found that “cannabis products that primarily contain cannabidiol (CBD) bring little relief to people with chronic pain, while products high in tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) slightly reduce pain severity but come with stronger side effects.” Researchers observed that “on a zero-to-10-point pain scale, nabilone, a synthetic THC analogue, reduced short-term pain severity by an average of 1.59 points. Dronabinol, another purified THC product, had a negligible effect on pain.” Meanwhile, “nabiximols, a spray containing comparable THC and CBD levels, reduced short-term pain by an average of 0.54 points. Products that consisted primarily of CBD were associated with no or trivial reductions in short-term pain severity.” Researchers also noted that “products high in THC were associated with an increased risk of adverse events, including dizziness, sedation, and nausea.” The review was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

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— “Cannabis Products Have Mixed Effects on Chronic Pain, Psychiatric News , December 23, 2025

MedPage Today (12/22, Robertson) reports a study found that “use of benzodiazepines during pregnancy, particularly in the second trimester, was linked to some adverse pregnancy outcomes.” Researchers observed that “among 454,477 pregnancies, benzodiazepine use was associated with increased risk of abortion (spontaneous and elective abortion), with an absolute risk of 0.83 events per 100 pregnancies among benzodiazepine users compared with 0.52 events per 100 in nonusers (relative risk [RR] 1.58).” Furthermore, they noted that “after accounting for competing risks, benzodiazepine use was also linked to increased risk of preterm birth (RR 1.20) and small for gestational age (RR 1.06), compared to nonuse, and effects were more pronounced with exposure during the second trimester.” The study was published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (12/22, Feliciano) reports a study found that “while most adolescents remained resilient to depression during the COVID-19 pandemic, girls and teens in the later stages of puberty were more vulnerable.” The researchers “classified participants’ depression trajectories as resilient, depression-susceptible or chronically high, based on symptoms scores that tracked six key symptoms of depression, including depressed mood, anhedonia, a sense of guilt or worthlessness, fatigue, sleep and concentration impairments.” They observed that “various pre-pandemic risk factors were associated with the depression-susceptible trajectory, including being in the late pubertal or post pubertal stage before the pandemic, pre-pandemic family conflict, peer bullying, cyberbullying, maternal history of depression, polyenvironmental adversity exposure, and polygenic risk of depression among those of European ancestry.” In contrast, “lower depression susceptibility was associated with parental monitoring and problem-solving skills.” The study was published in JAMA Network Open.

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— “Adolescent girls, teens in late puberty faced higher COVID-19 pandemic depression risk,”Octavia Feliciano, Healio, December 22, 2025

MedPage Today (12/22, Monaco) reports a systematic review and meta-analysis of 137 studies found that “nearly one in two transgender and gender diverse (TGD) youth reported suicidal ideation or self-injury, and one in four attempted suicide.” The researchers observed that “in a study of 131,429 TGD individuals ages 25 and younger, 48.8% experienced suicidal ideation and 26.2% reported a suicide attempt.” Meanwhile, “pooled prevalence estimates also showed that 46.6% of TGD youths experienced nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI).” Researchers said, “These rates are 2 to 3.5 times higher than those reported for cisgender youth (20.5% for suicidal ideations, 7.1% for attempts, and 17.7% for NSSI).” Furthermore, they noted “prevalence rates of suicide attempt were higher in North America (29%) compared with Europe (22%) and Asia (19%).” The review was published in JAMA Pediatrics.

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Dermatology Advisor (12/19, Stong) reported a study found that “alopecia areata is associated with a significantly increased risk of developing psychiatric disorders.” The research team observed the “alopecia group had a cumulative incidence of any psychiatric disorder of 17.3% compared with 3.9% in the control group, for a risk ratio (RR) of 4.49. Severe psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder were diagnosed in 0.7% of patients in the alopecia group and 0.2% of patients in the control group. Specifically, 6.4% of patients with alopecia had a depressive disorder compared with 1.3% of control patients. Anxiety disorders occurred in 10.6% of the alopecia group and 2.8% of the control group.” Additionally, “women with alopecia had an increased psychiatric burden compared with men.” The study was published in Dermatology and Therapy.

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— “Alopecia Areata Is Associated With Increased Risk for Psychiatric Disorders,”Colby Stong, Dermatology Advisor, December 19, 2025

HealthDay (12/19, Thompson) reported a study suggests that “psychiatric conditions as varied as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder might be driven by very similar genetic underpinnings.” According to researchers, “mental health problems can be sorted into five general genetic categories, each with a shared ‘genetic architecture’ driving people’s illness.” The five general categories involving 238 genetic variants includes: disorders with “compulsive features” like anorexia, Tourette disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder; “internalizing” disorders like depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder; substance use disorders; neurodevelopmental conditions “like autism and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder;” and bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. With that said, “70% of the genetic signal associated with schizophrenia is also associated with bipolar disorder, the study said.” The study was published in Nature.

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— “Different Mental Health Conditions Share Similar Genetics, Study Says,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, December 19, 2025

HealthDay (12/18, Thompson) reports, “It’s beside the point to debate whether vaping or nicotine pouches can be more healthy than smoking a cigarette, a major new report argues.” HealthDay says “nicotine is toxic to the heart and blood vessels regardless of how it’s consumed, according to an expert consensus report.” One researcher said, “Across cigarettes, vapes, heated tobacco and nicotine pouches, we consistently see increased blood pressure, damage to blood vessels and a higher risk of heart disease. … No product that delivers nicotine is safe for the heart.” The findings were published in the European Heart Journal.

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— “Vapes Or Cigs, Doesn’t Matter — Nicotine Is Toxic To Heart Health, Experts Say,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay , December 18, 2025