The New York Times (3/12, Hoffman ) reports Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration staff “could be cut by 50 percent” by the end of the week, according to senior staff officials. The federal agency’s “broad mandate includes overseeing 988, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline,” as well as “regulating outpatient clinics that dispense opioid treatment drugs such as methadone” and “directing funds to drug courts.” It also “provides best-practice training and resources for hundreds of nonprofits and state agencies” and acts as a “federal watchdog that closely monitors the spending of taxpayer-funded grants for mental health and addiction.” Rates of US overdose fatalities remain high, but they “have been declining consistently since 2023. Many drug policy experts say SAMHSA is the federal agency most directly responsible.” In interviews, current and former SAMHSA staff warn “the threat posed by layoffs and policy shifts is beginning to be felt at sites everywhere, from the heart of troubled city neighborhoods to rural outposts.”

Related Links:

— “The New York Times (requires login and subscription)

Healio (3/11, Herpen) reports data suggest that “an increase in depressive symptoms was observed among U.S. teenagers without, rather than with, behavioral risk factors, underscoring the need for greater screening in this population.” Results show that “depressive symptoms rose as much or more from 2007 to 2021 among students engaging in few or no risk behaviors as students who did engage in such behaviors, with the trend observed for both boys and girls.” Researchers found that “depressive symptoms increased in high school students from 28.4% in 2007 to 42.3% in 2021,” noting the “largest increases occurred among girls and non-Hispanic white students.” The data were published in The Lancet Regional Health Americas.

Related Links:

— “Depressive symptoms rising faster in US teens who do not engage in risk behaviors,” Robert Herpen, MA, Healio, March 11, 2025

Psychiatric News (3/11) reports a study found that “patients with private insurance who saw behavioral health professionals went out-of-network for their care more often than their peers who received care from medical or surgical health professionals.” Researchers observed that “across all settings, patients with substance use disorder (SUD) were most likely to go out-of-network for care, followed by those with a mental disorder and those who received medical or surgical care.” The study was published in Psychiatric Services.

Related Links:

— “Out-of-Network Care More Common in Substance Use, Mental Disorder Treatment,” Psychiatric News, March 11, 2025

Psychiatric News (3/10) reports a study found that “alexithymia – a condition associated with difficulty in identifying and describing one’s own emotions – may be a strong influence in how much sensory sensitivity people with autism spectrum disorder experience.” The researchers “conducted a series of modeling analyses to examine the interaction between the severity of alexithymia, sensory issues, and/or autism in” twin pairs in which at least one twin had autism. The analysis “found a strong correlation between autism and sensory symptoms; however, after controlling for alexithymia, the association between autism and sensory symptoms was no longer significant. In contrast, the correlation between alexithymia and sensory symptoms was significant, even after factoring in the influence of autism.” They concluded, “This suggests that alexithymia and sensory processing share genetic factors, independent of those that increase the likelihood of autism.” The study was published in Translational Psychiatry.

Related Links:

— “Sensory Sensitivity in People With Autism May Be Due to Emotional Blindness,” Psychiatric News, March10 , 2025

Healio (3/10, Jenkins ) reports early study results suggest that “people who engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity may be less likely to develop dementia, stroke, anxiety, depression and sleep disorders compared with those with more sedentary behavior.” Researchers found that “moderate to vigorous physical activity had a strong protective effect on neuropsychiatric diseases…whereas more sedentary time was a risk factor.” They stated, “Our findings reinforce a dose-response relationship between physical activity and health benefits, supporting public health guidelines and highlighting exercise as a cost-effective and accessible preventive strategy, particularly for high-risk populations.” Preliminary results from the study will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology’s Annual Meeting.

Related Links:

— “Exercise tied to reduced risk for some neuropsychiatric diseases,” Cassandra Jenkins, Healio, March 10, 2025 — Free registration required