Week of February 23–27, 2026

General Mental Health

• A new consensus statement recommends psychotropic medication regimens undergo periodic review to ensure they target relevant symptoms and have a favorable risk-benefit profile. Deprescribing medications might be indicated for a variety of reasons, including the successful completion of a time-limited treatment, lack of efficacy, drug misuse, or others. Deprescribing should be followed by close clinical monitoring. Read more here.
• Every Olympics spectator experiences the wonder of the Games uniquely -- from casual viewers who tune in only for one event, to devoted fans who eagerly consume every sport. What viewers may forget, however, is that each Olympian also experiences the Games uniquely. Although most athletes are Olympic newcomers, numerous nations boast multi-time Olympians. Let's zoom in on the athletes and their psychological experiences. Read more here.

Youth Mental Health

• In roughly 25 years, young adults across the globe have gone from reporting “the greatest wellbeing of all age groups” to “merely enduring life,” according to Sapien Labs’ Global Mind Health in a 2025 report, an alarming shift that researchers largely attribute to four main factors: early childhood screen use; increased consumption of ultra-processed foods; crumbling family bonds; and diminished spirituality. Read more here.
• In this cohort study, both prenatal depression and gestational diabetes were associated with childhood obesity risk, with larger effect sizes observed for gestational diabetes. Children exposed to both conditions had the greatest risk, although associations appeared additive rather than synergistic. These findings underscore the need for universal prenatal screening and risk stratification, along with targeted interventions for children exposed to these conditions. Read more here.

Social Media and Addiction

• Social media addiction has been compared to casinos, opioids, and cigarettes. While there’s some debate among experts about the line between overuse and addiction, and whether social media can cause the latter, there is no doubt that many people feel like they can’t escape the pull of Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and other platforms. Read more here.

The Opioid Crisis and Addiction

• Dentistry occupies a complex space in the opioid crisis. Dental procedures have often been a first point of opioid exposure, particularly after extractions or surgery, and that reality shapes public perception. If dental visits can serve as entry points to exposure, they should also serve as structured entry points for prevention, screening, education, and referral. Read more here.

Student Loan and Workforce Issues

• Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has made it his Make America Healthy Again mission to challenge the medical establishment. President Donald Trump’s signature law, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, could entrench it. Kennedy sees America’s medical schools as bastions of groupthink that ignore the root causes of disease. But newly proposed caps on student loans that stem from the law would favor establishment institutions over nontraditional schools aligned with Kennedy’s view that Americans are sicker than ever because of what they eat, the chemicals they’re exposed to, and how little exercise they get. Read more here.

Research

• In this randomized clinical trial of pregnant, low-income, primarily Latine individuals, statistically significant improvements were observed in depressive symptom severity from baseline to postpartum, regardless of prenatal care type. There was no evidence of a difference between enhanced prenatal care types for improving depressive symptoms. Read more here.

Federal Policy

• In the first State of the Union address of his second term, President Trump touted economic wins, including on health care, even as more than half of Americans say health care has become more unaffordable for them and their families. In his speech, Trump claimed he had brought prescription drug costs from the highest in the world to the lowest, thanks to his “most-favored nation” policy. He also implored congressional Republicans to codify the policy into law. Read more here.
• A top health official at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) hedged on payment reform, but committed to helping physicians address prior authorization challenges, during the American Medical Association's (AMA) National Advocacy Conference. Read more here.