General Mental Health

• UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Social Work is partnering with the state health department to expand mental health first-aid training on college campuses. Rising mental health concerns among students, including suicides at UNC system universities, highlight the need for action. Officials and experts are calling for greater mental health education and earlier intervention. Read more here.

AI and Mental Health

• A study of 828 adults found that machine learning could not reliably predict who would benefit from COMET, a 25–40-minute online depression intervention based on cognitive behavioral therapy and positive psychology. Using data on symptoms, sleep, social support, childhood experiences, and personality, the model could not identify participants likely to improve more than those on a waitlist, underscoring the continuing challenges of personalized mental health treatment. Read more here.

Youth Mental Health

• A cohort study of 11,889 young people experiencing first-episode psychosis found that only 19.1% met the medication-adherence threshold, defined as having medication available for at least 80% of days. Higher adherence was associated with more outpatient behavioral health visits and fewer emergency department visits, suggesting that consistent treatment may promote continuity of care and reduce emergency service use. Read more here.
• TikTok has agreed to pay Alabama at least $100 million and introduce new teen-safety measures to settle a lawsuit alleging that its personalized, potentially addictive algorithm harmed young people’s mental health. Among the changes, Alabama teens will be able to choose a non-personalized content feed. Read more here.

Veteran Mental Health

• A cohort study of 3,817,970 U.S. veterans found that PTSD and health-related social needs were each associated with increased risks of mild cognitive impairment, Alzheimer disease, and related dementias. Veterans experiencing both conditions had the highest observed risk, suggesting that their combination may help identify individuals who could benefit from earlier cognitive screening and supportive interventions. Read more here.

Loneliness and Social Isolation

• A study published in Nature Communications found that loneliness and social isolation can reduce a person’s healthy life expectancy by as much as six years and harm both physical and mental health. Social isolation involves limited social contact, while loneliness reflects a lack of meaningful connection; the two can occur independently. Researchers estimate that roughly half of U.S. adults experience each condition. Read more here.
• An international article in World Psychiatry calls for a broader public-health response to youth loneliness, which is associated with depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and poorer physical health. Loneliness affects approximately 24% of adolescents in low- and middle-income countries, compared with 11% in high-income countries. The authors recommend culturally responsive research and prevention programs delivered through schools and communities. Read more here.

Suicide Prevention

• A study using more than 172 million person-years of data examined whether California’s extreme risk protection order law affected suicide rates among handgun owners. Researchers estimated 4.1 fewer suicide deaths per 100,000 people compared with states without an ERPO law, but the finding was not statistically significant. The results suggest that any population-level reduction in suicide risk was modest and may have been nonexistent. Read more here.

2025 Reconciliation Bill Impacts

• Medicaid work requirements will begin nationwide in January, while some Republican-led states are adopting stricter documentation rules than federal regulations require. At least six states will immediately require medical proof from applicants claiming they are too medically frail to work, potentially creating barriers for people who cannot afford a doctor’s visit. Democrats in 25 states are challenging the requirements in court, arguing that they are overly burdensome. Read more here.

Research

• A cohort study of 388 adults receiving repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for treatment-resistant depression identified four distinct symptom-response trajectories. Remission rates ranged from 65.22% among those with the most favorable response to 0% among those with minimal improvement. Younger age, benzodiazepine use, lower initial anxiety, and more severe mood symptoms were associated with poorer response, suggesting that trajectory patterns may help guide individualized treatment. Read more here.