HealthDay (2/19, Neff) reports a systematic review and meta-analysis of nine studies “identified a troubling link between high-sugar drinks and increased anxiety symptoms in young people. Researchers reviewed studies published over the last 25 years, looking for patterns in how a teenager’s diet affects their mind. The beverages analyzed included soda, energy drinks, sweetened juices, flavored milks and even sugary teas and coffees.” The results showed that “the more sugary drinks a teenager consumed, the more likely they were to report symptoms of anxiety. In fact, a meta-analysis of the data linked high sugar intake to 34% higher odds of having an anxiety disorder.” The researchers “emphasized that their findings show an association between sugary drinks and anxiety rather than a direct cause-and-effect.” The review was published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics.

Related Links:

— “Sweetened Drinks Linked to Higher Anxiety in Teens,”Deanna Neff, HealthDay , February 19, 2026

Healio (2/19, Leiser) reports, “Certain social determinants and psychological factors may elevate a person’s risk for new persistent opioid use after surgery, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Researchers found that “enrollment in Medicaid and preoperative use of benzodiazepines – widely prescribed to treat anxiety disorders, insomnia and seizures – both correlated with 77% higher odds for new persistent opioid use.” People “with mood disorders and anxiety also exhibited elevated risk.” The findings were published in Pain Medicine.

Related Links:

— “‘Valuable insights’: 4 factors may raise risk for new persistent opioid use after surgery,”Mark Leiser, Healio, February 19, 2026

HealthDay (2/18, Thompson) reports an evidence review of 23 studies found that “pain during pregnancy and after delivery can significantly increase a woman’s risk of postpartum depression.” The researchers “crafted a list of factors that can increase women’s risk of pain and postpartum depression,” including mental health during pregnancy (such as depression and anxiety); delivery method (especially Cesarean); pain management practices; discrimination toward racial and ethnic minorities; and overall neglect of pain. The review was published in Current Psychiatry Reports.

Related Links:

— “Pain Drives Postpartum Depression, Review Finds,”Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, February 18, 2026

Psychiatric News (2/17) reports a study found that “individuals with severe alcohol-related liver disease (ALD) who take alcohol use disorder (AUD) medications have higher survival rates over three years.” The researchers “assessed the survival rates of 1,309 patients (76% male) with severe ALD who were referred to a tertiary medical center for a liver transplant evaluation.” They observed that “individuals who used AUD medications for at least three months had a 6.6% higher one-year survival rate and an 18.5% higher three-year survival rate compared with those who used AUD medications for three months or less.” They also noted that “as medication duration increased, mortality decreased: Just 12.6% of patients with more than six months of AUD medication use died during follow-up, compared with 34.7% of those with no medication use.” The study was published in JAMA Network Open.

Related Links:

— “AUD Medications May Improve Survival in Patients With Severe Liver Disease, Psychiatric News, February 17, 2026

AMA CEO John Whyte, MD, MPH, writes in STAT (2/17, Subscription Publication), “On Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and other social media platforms, highly respected doctors are endorsing a wide variety of medical products — and racking up millions of views in the process.” But “there’s just one problem. The videos aren’t authentic. They’re the work of scammers, who use artificial intelligence to clone the faces and voices of real, credentialed physicians without their knowledge or consent.” He argues, “Unless regulators crack down on these deepfakes, the videos threaten to steer even more patients toward wasteful, potentially dangerous purchases — while further undermining the public’s already faltering trust in medical institutions.” Whyte concludes, “Patients deserve to trust that medical advice comes from a real, qualified professional acting in their best interest. Federal action is necessary to protect both patients and doctors — and prevent new technologies from eroding the time-tested foundations of medical care.”

Related Links:

— “AMA CEO: Deepfake doctors are a threat to public health,”John Whyte , STAT, February 17, 2026