CNN (4/16, McPhillips , Christensen ) reports new datapublished Wednesday by the CDC National Center for Health Statistics indicate that “more than 1 in 8 people ages 12 and up in the US have been depressed in recent years.” This suggests that “depression prevalence has nearly doubled, from 7.3% in 2015-16 to more than 13% in 2021-23.” The data show “women are more likely than men to have depression, and prevalence tends to decrease with age and greater wealth. Overall, about 16% of women and 10% of men had depression during the 2021-23 survey period. But more than 1 in 4 adolescent girls between ages 12 and 19 had depression,” higher than any other demographic group. The report shows “only about 40% of adults and adolescents with depression received counseling or therapy,” and that “adult women are also more than twice as likely as adult men to take medication for depression, according to another CDC report published Wednesday.”

Related Links:

— “As depression becomes more common in the US, treatment rates vary, CDC reports show,” Deidre McPhillips and Jen Christensen, CNN, April 16, 2025

The Washington Post (4/15, Nirappil ) reports that on Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a report finding that “one in 31 8-year-olds had autism,” according to a CDC survey, “a small increase from previous years.”

The AP (4/15, Stobbe ) reports the previous CDC estimate from 2020 found that one in 36 US children have autism. According to the report, “boys continue to be diagnosed more than girls, and the highest rates are among children who are Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native and Black.” Health officials “largely attribute growing autism numbers to better recognition of cases through wide screening and better diagnosis.”

CNN (4/15, McPhillips ) reports the study is “based on surveillance data from 16 areas that participate in the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network. The data are not nationally representative and encompass a different set of sites than the last report with data from 2020, which only captured data from 11 sites.” Improvements in early identification of autism “have been apparent,” the authors of the CDC report wrote, and “differences in the prevalence of children identified with [autism spectrum disorder] across communities might be due to differences in availability of services for early detection and evaluation and diagnostic practices.”

Related Links:

— “Autism rates in US rise again to 1 in 31 kids, CDC says,” Mike Strobbe, Associated Press, April 15, 2025

HealthDay (4/14, Thompson ) reports a review of 102 previous clinical trials found that “ADHD medications generally have just a small effect on a person’s blood pressure, heart rate and heart electrical activity.” Researchers observed that “there were no significant differences between stimulant ADHD meds like methylphenidate and amphetamine and non-stimulant drugs like atomoxetine and viloxazine.” Only guanfacine “led to decreased blood pressure and heart rate, results showed.” Nevertheless, “the findings also reinforce that doctors should keep an eye on blood pressure and heart rate in people taking ADHD medications, whether or not the drugs are stimulants.” Researchers concluded, “Overall, the risk-benefit ratio is reassuring for people taking ADHD medications.” The review was published in The Lancet Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “ADHD Drugs Generally Safe For Heart Health, Review Says,” Dennis Thompson, HealthDay, April 14, 2025

MedPage Today (4/14, George ) reports a study suggests that “people that required emergency department (ED) or acute hospital care for cannabis use may have an increased risk of a subsequent dementia diagnosis.” Researchers found that “among adults ages 45 years and older with no history of dementia, those who needed acute care due to cannabis use had a 1.5 times higher risk of a new dementia diagnosis within 5 years compared with patients who had an all-cause acute care encounter.” Notably, the “risk of a new dementia diagnosis for people who needed acute care due to cannabis use was 3.9 times higher than that of the general population.” Researchers stated that “the findings do not show that cannabis use causes dementia.” The study was published in JAMA Neurology.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

Healio (4/10) reported a study found that “adults showed a significant reduction in their clinical-level mental health symptoms with unrestricted access to a generative AI-powered chatbot designed for mental health treatment.” Study researchers “evaluated Therabot’s ability to treat symptoms of major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) or high risk for feeding and eating disorders (CHR-FED) among 210 adults aged 18 years or older.” The results suggest that “Therabot users experienced greater reductions in their respective symptoms compared with the control group.” In addition, “the intervention group reported a therapeutic alliance with Therabot comparable to what patients report with in-person providers.” Nevertheless, researchers concluded, “While these results are very promising, no generative AI agent is ready to operate fully autonomously in mental health where there is a very wide range of high-risk scenarios it might encounter.” The study was published in NEJM AI.

Related Links:

— “Generative AI chatbot ‘promising’ for mental health treatment, but supervision needed,”Moira Mahoney, Healio, April 10, 2025