HealthDay (10/21, Gotkine) reports a study found that “school disengagement (SD) rates were higher during the pandemic years, especially for children with mental health conditions (MHCs).” The researchers “examined temporal changes in SD and SD rates among children with MHCs in a representative sample of U.S. children aged 6 to 17 years from 2018 to 2022.” They found that “the rates of SD were higher during pandemic years versus 2018, especially for children with MHCs. Higher odds of SD were seen in 2020, 2021, and 2022 versus 2018; there were no differences between 2018. “Higher SD odds were observed in boys, those with overall health status lower than very good, those with special ed programs, those who repeated a grade, those with high rates of absenteeism, those who experienced food insecurity, those who had high residential mobility, and those from lone-parent/unmarried households.” The study was published in Pediatrics.

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— “School Disengagement Increased During Pandemic Years,”Elana Gotkine, HealthDay , October 21, 2025

The New York Times (10/21, Shakin) reports, “A new large-scale analysis found that the short-term cardiovascular and metabolic side effects of antidepressants vary widely by” medication. However, “the ones most commonly prescribed in the United States are linked to relatively mild issues.” Investigators came to this conclusion after analyzing “data from more than 58,000 participants across 151 studies and 17 Food and Drug Administration reports.” The findings were published in The Lancet.

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— The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

KFF Health News (10/20, Leys) reports, “Companies running private Medicare and Medicaid insurance plans inaccurately list many mental health professionals as being available to treat the plans’ members, a new federal watchdog report says.” Investigators with the HHS’ Office of Inspector General “allege that some insurers effectively set up ‘ghost networks’ of psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals who purportedly have agreed to treat patients covered by the publicly financed Medicare and Medicaid plans.” The report “found that 55% of mental health professionals listed as in-network by Medicare Advantage plans were not providing such care to any of the plans’ members. The figure was 28% for Medicaid managed care plans.” The report “recommends government administrators make more use of medical billing data to confirm whether health professionals listed as in-network are providing care to patients covered by private Medicare and Medicaid insurance plans.”

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— “Private Medicare, Medicaid Plans Exaggerate In-Network Mental Health Options, Watchdogs Say,”Tony Leys, KFF Health News , October 20, 2025

Psychiatric Times (10/19, J. Bender) reports a study found that the “first antipsychotic that is selected for a patient could influence the weight gained in subsequent years.” Researchers observed “that patients receiving either aripiprazole, quetiapine, olanzapine, or risperidone in the first year of treatment are most likely to have experienced weight gain in 5 years from a normal body mass index (BMI) at baseline. No significant weight gain from the normal baseline was found in that period after initial prescriptions of perphenazine, fluphenazine, or amisulpride.” The investigators also “concluded that, in addition to differences between agents in relation to the weight gain measured at 5 years, the interaction between drugs and disposition to weight gain is complex.” The study was published in Neurology and Therapy.

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— “Can the Initial Antipsychotic Influence Years of Weight Gain?,”Kenneth J. Bender, Psychiatric Times , October 19, 2025

HealthDay (10/16, Solomon) reports a study presented at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology Congress found that “women with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) face delayed diagnosis and worse outcomes than men.” The researchers “analyzed differences in ADHD severity, its comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders, and its impact on psychosocial functioning by sex.” They found that “the combined ADHD subtype was the most common, affecting 48.2 percent of participants. Age of symptom onset was similar for men and women, although women were diagnosed significantly later (28.96 versus 24.13 years). Men more frequently had legal problems than women (18.1 versus 6.6 percent). Women with ADHD had worse outcomes, including higher symptom severity, worse psychosocial functioning, and greater disability, as well as higher rates of depression and anxiety.” The study was also published in European Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Women With ADHD Face Later Diagnosis, Worse Outcomes Than Men,”Lori Solomon, HealthDay, October 16, 2025