Healio (5/23, Mahoney) reported a study found that “adolescents with mental health issues who were admitted to a pediatric inpatient psychiatry unit experienced significant improvements in depression, suicidal thoughts and behaviors, and anxiety.” Researchers observed “that the patients experienced improvements in all the measured outcomes from admission to discharge.” They saw a “large effect size for depression as per” the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology Adolescent 17‐item Self‐Report and “a moderate effect size for emotional regulation as per” the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale Short Form. In addition, they “observed smaller effect sizes” for anxiety, quality of life, and family functioning. The study was published in Psychiatric Research & Clinical Practice

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— “Pediatric inpatient psychiatry units effective for adolescents with severe mental illness,” Moira Mahoney, Healio, May 23, 2025

The Washington Post (5/26, McMahan) reports a systemic review found that “engagement with digital technology was associated with a 58 percent reduced risk of cognitive impairment in people middle-aged and older.” The researchers reviewed 57 studies involving more than 411,000 adults with an average age of 69 to determine “whether exposure to technology has helped or harmed cognition among the first generation of adults with prolonged exposure to digital devices such as smartphones, tablets and computers.” They observed that “technology could play a role in preserving brain function, not worsening.” Researchers concluded, “There was no credible evidence from the longitudinal studies, or the meta-analysis as a whole, for widespread digital ‘brain drain’ or ‘digital dementia’ as a result of general, natural uses of digital technology.” The review was published in Nature Human Behavior.

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— “The Washington Post (requires login and subscription)

MedPage Today (5/21, Susman) reports a systematic review and meta-analysis of three randomized trials presented at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting found that “for people trying to quit smoking, use of a GLP-1 receptor agonist may help prevent weight gain, a common barrier to quitting.” Researchers observed that “between 168 patients in the GLP-1 agonist groups and 169 control patients, the mean difference in post-cessation weight gain was -2.59 kg. However, the difference between groups in abstinence rates was not significantly different.” They noted that “experimental data suggest that GLP-1 receptor agonists, traditionally used for type 2 diabetes and obesity, may have a role in the pathophysiology of addiction, but its efficacy in nicotine abstinence remains unknown.” However, they could not “definitively say that using GLP-1s will help people stop smoking.”

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MedPage Today (5/21, Susman) reports a study presented at the American Psychiatric Association annual meeting suggests the “use of chemical restraint was more common among Black patients versus white and Hispanic patients in psychiatric emergency settings.” Researchers observed that “among 852 patients, chemical restraint – intramuscular injections of drugs such as benzodiazepines or antipsychotics – was used in 37.7% of Black patients compared with 32.6% of white patients and 22.6% of Hispanic patients, with the latter difference reaching statistical significance.” They concluded, “These findings suggest disparities in care and the need for further research to determine how these data impact patient outcomes and mental health care-seeking behavior. Disproportionate use of chemical restraint can result in adverse clinical outcomes, including prolonged hospitalization and higher readmission rates.”

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— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

HealthDay (5/21, Thompson ) reports a study found that “nearly 9 of 10 teenagers have experienced cyberbullying.” According to the study’s survey of nearly 2,700 US middle- and high-school students, “the most common forms of cyberbullying reported by adolescents were mean or hurtful online comments (56%); exclusion (53%); online rumors (53%); embarrassment or humiliation (50%); repeated unwanted contact via text or online (42%); and direct threats through text or direct messages (38%).” The results indicate “that even subtle forms of cyberbullying can cause psychological harm.” Researchers said, “We were surprised to find that no single type of cyberbullying caused more harm than others; all carried a similar risk of traumatic outcomes.” The study was published in BMC Public Health.

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— “9 In 10 U.S. Teens Have Been Cyberbullied,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, May 21, 2025