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26 papers
This study reviewed surveys and used global models to measure how the COVID-19 pandemic changed rates of major depressive disorder and anxiety disorders in 2020. It found that places with higher COVID-19 infection rates and bigger drops in movement had larger increases in these disorders. The authors estimate about 53.2…
This study reviewed systematic reviews to measure death risks in major mental disorders. The authors screened 407 reviews and found 20 that reported mortality risks for 20 different disorders, covering over 1.7 million patients and more than a quarter of a million deaths. Every disorder showed higher all-cause death rates…
This review found that eating disorders cause a large health and social burden. In 2017 eating disorders accounted for more than 3.3 million healthy years lost worldwide. Anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa show rising disability, higher death rates (especially after inpatient treatment for anorexia), lower quality of life, higher costs,…
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental illness marked by big problems with emotion control, impulsive acts, and unstable self-image and relationships. Many people with BPD hurt themselves or try suicide (recurrent suicidal behaviour in about 69–80% and suicide rates up to 10%). Mentalization-based treatment (MBT) was developed to…
The authors reviewed psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy studies published from 1993 to 2017 to see how many people of color took part. They found 18 studies with about 280 people. About 82% of participants were non-Hispanic White, while only small percentages were African American, Latino, Asian, indigenous, or mixed race. Because so…
This paper pooled results from 19 randomized trials with 1,173 adults to see if meditation and yoga change PTSD symptoms. Overall, these mind–body practices were linked to a small-to-medium reduction in PTSD symptoms (effect size = −0.39). The authors found no big differences by type of practice, who was studied,…
This small, randomized, double-blind pilot study tested MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for anxiety tied to life‑threatening illness. Eighteen people were enrolled (13 got MDMA, 5 got placebo) and had two blinded 8‑hour therapy sessions, with later open‑label MDMA sessions and 6‑ and 12‑month follow-ups. The MDMA group showed a larger drop in…
This systematic review looked at 33 studies about social anxiety during the COVID-19 pandemic. The studies suggest social anxiety increased in the general population. Women and people with low incomes appeared more likely to report higher social anxiety. Other links to higher social anxiety included poor coping, weaker social support,…
Many people worldwide face traumatic events—research estimates about 70% have had at least one in their life. A substantial share of those people, especially in low- and middle-income countries, go on to have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In recent decades researchers have developed effective, evidence-based PTSD treatments. But many survivors…
This study analyzed Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2021 data from 204 countries to track anxiety disorders in 10–24 year olds from 1990 to 2021. It found a 52% rise in incidence over those 31 years, a sharp increase after 2019, higher rates in females, and rising disability (DALYs) especially…
Researchers ran a national online survey of U.S. adults from November 2020 to March 2021 that was weighted to represent the adult population. They asked about use of psychedelic mushrooms (psilocybin), reasons for use, and mental health. Many users said they took mushrooms for general mental health and well-being. Users…
