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Latest News Around the Web

Study Finds No Association Between Presence Of A Recovery Residence For People With Substance Use Disorder And Nearby Property Values

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.

Related Links:

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

Steel Nets Appear To Deter Suicides At Golden Gate Bridge

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.”

Related Links:

The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

Individuals Who Have Suffered Traumatic Injury Have Nine-Fold Higher Risk Of Suicide At Two Years Post-Injury Compared To Those In General Population, Study Finds

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.

Related Links:

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

Review Finds No Evidence That Acetaminophen Use In Pregnancy Increases Risk Of Autism Or Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders

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).

Related Links:

The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

HHS Reverses Cuts To Mental Health Grants

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

Foundation News

Maryland Parity Project Now in Our Links

The Maryland Parity Project is an initiative of the Mental Health Association of Maryland that “works to educate insured Marylanders of their new rights in accessing mental health and addiction treatment under The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.”

Their website says understanding the complex system of state and federal rules governing mental health coverage can be very difficult. Their staff hopes to alleviate concern and stress by answering questions for insured Maryland citizens. They will provide case assistance as well as evaluate complaints, help with appeals to an insurer’s decision, and assist filing complaints with the proper government authority.

You can find more information at their website here: Maryland Parity Project

The Maryland Parity Project is a featured link on our Links page.

MFP Radio Ad Examines Mental Illness and Violence

The Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, Inc.’s latest public service announcement on local Maryland radio stations focuses on the real statistics concerning mental illness and violence. It discusses the problem of cuts in mental illness coverage by insurance companies and less focus by government.

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.

2013 Outstanding Merit Award Entries Open Now

Nominations are now being accepted for the Foundation’s 2013 Outstanding Merit Award.

The annual Outstanding Merit Award is given for a worthy endeavor in Maryland that accomplishes one or more of the following:

  • Increases public awareness and understanding of mental illness
  • Enhances the quality of care for psychiatric illness
  • Reduces the stigma of mental illness

Nominations for this award of $1000 are being invited from the entire Maryland community. A short nomination form must be submitted with a cover letter by March 1, 2013, to the Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, 1101 Saint. Paul Street, Suite 305, Baltimore, MD 21202-6405. The form is available as PDF or Word document.

Foundation’s Latest Radio Spot Tells How Common Mental Illness Is

The Maryland Foundation for Psychiatry, Inc.’s latest public service announcement on local Maryland radio stations focuses on how common mental illness really is. It discusses how people avoid thinking about it and urges them to seek help when needed.

You can listen to the ad using the player in the upper right of the website’s homepage. All past public service spots are also available for listening or to download on our Radio Advertisements page.