HealthDay (4/14, Solomon) reports a study found that “children exposed to prenatal maternal smoking are more likely to experience behavioral and mental health challenges.” The researchers observed that “maternal tobacco smoking during pregnancy predicted differentiation toward externalizing problems in children aged 1 to 2 years through 7 to 8 years and children aged 13 to 14 years. Effects were similar for boys and girls. Across all ages, maternal tobacco smoking during pregnancy predicted higher symptom severity.” The researchers noted that “prenatal smoking exposure was also associated with a greater likelihood of having multiple mental health or behavioral symptoms.” The study was published in Development and Psychopathology.

Related Links:

— “Prenatal Maternal Smoking Linked to Behavioral Health Challenges in Offspring,”Lori Solomon, HealthDay, April 14, 2026

Fierce Healthcare (4/14, Gliadkovskaya) reports the surge in “all gaming segments,” including casinos, sports betting, online games, and prediction markets, is “creating an addiction crisis yet to be widely recognized by the public, policymakers and the healthcare sector, experts caution. Current national problem gambling prevalence is unknown due to a lack of research and funding dedicated to the issue.” Experts believe “those most at risk include young adults, men and online gamblers. Gambling-related harms can be dire, from financial stress to co-occurring behavioral health conditions to suicide, which a fifth of individuals with gambling addiction attempt.” Fierce Healthcare “talked to two dozen [healthcare professionals], researchers, advocates and regulators” about “problem gambling, what’s driving it and efforts underway to address it.” Regardless of the true prevalence of gambling disorder, “a fraction of cases actually show up in clinical settings,” as “most [healthcare professionals] are not screening for problem gambling, much less diagnosing gambling disorder.” Notably, “federal funding for gambling disorder has been all but nonexistent,” meaning that “prevention and treatment, like legalization, has thus far been up to states.”

Related Links:

— “‘The next opioid epidemic’: Gambling legalization outpaces public health response to addiction,”Anastassia Gliadkovskaya, Fierce Healthcare, April 14, 2026

MedPage Today (4/13, Clark) reports, “Persistence in appealing denied health insurance claims resulted in overturned decisions between 30% and 78% percent of the time, when the case reached independent review organizations (IROs), an analysis of completed external appeals showed.” The analysis indicated that “among 51,394 closed cases in New York state from May 31, 2019 to Dec. 10, 2025, almost half (46.7%) of external appeals were overturned at this third level of appeal, which often involves independent physicians and other specialists.” The findings were published in a research letter in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Related Links:

— MedPage Today (requires login and subscription)

NBC News (4/13, Edwards, Özcan) reports a long-term study found that “tests of intelligence and brain function showed the same results whether or not people drank fluoridated water growing up.” The new research “is the first to measure community water fluoridation exposure during childhood in the U.S. and any potential impact on cognition up to age 80.” The researchers followed 10,317 people in Wisconsin “since they graduated from high school in 1957.” Ultimately, researchers “found no difference, at any stage of life, between people who grew up with water fluoridation in Wisconsin and those who did not.” Opponents of water fluoridation “have often pointed to small studies that suggested a possible link between the mineral and kids’ IQ. Those studies were conducted in China or other countries with much higher fluoride concentrations than allowed in the U.S.” These results notably “contradict claims made by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that fluoride is ‘industrial waste’ associated with IQ loss.” The study was published in PNAS.
        
Psychiatric News (4/13) adds that researchers observed “no differences in average IQ scores at age 16 among any of the four groups after adjusting for sociodemographic or school-level variables. Similar findings were seen when examining children who lived in the same county their whole childhood (to ensure more consistent fluoride exposure).”

Related Links:

— “Fluoride in drinking water has no effect on IQ or brain function, long-term study shows,” Erika Edwards and Kaan Ozcan, NBC News, April 13, 2026

The AP (4/13, Shastri) reports CDC data show that the US “has a mental health problem,” with more young people, especially girls, “reporting poor mental health.” According to the AP, “mental health crises can happen abruptly or build to a tipping point over time.” Whatever the cause, “experts say the best thing to do is to spark a conversation as early as possible and connect to a broader support system.” Dr. Theresa Miskimen Rivera, president of the American Psychiatric Association, explained that crises can begin when someone is feeling depressed or anxious but is unable to pinpoint the cause. Other signs may include engaging less socially, not enjoying things they used to like, sleep irregularities, decreased hygiene, increased mood swings, greater use of drugs or alcohol, or feelings of “hopelessness, wanting to die or kill themselves, having no reason to live.” Experts say “if you see these changes, it’s time for a conversation.”

Related Links:

— “How to spot and help someone in a mental health crisis,”Devi Shastri, AP, April 13, 2026