Each month our editorial team sifts through hundreds of papers and curates notable findings—for practitioners and informed readers who want to stay current with the evidence. Subscribe to the monthly Research Digest for expert analysis and concise summaries of key papers.
241 papers
This meta-analysis combined 241 effect sizes from 114 studies to test how six habitual emotion-regulation strategies relate to symptoms of anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and substance-related problems. Rumination showed the strongest (large) link with symptoms. Avoidance, problem solving, and suppression showed medium-to-large links, while reappraisal and acceptance showed smaller (small-to-medium)…
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 2012 paper reviewed meta-analyses on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). The authors found 269 meta-analytic studies and examined a representative sample of 106 reviews across many problems. They reported the strongest support for CBT for anxiety disorders, somatoform disorders, bulimia, anger control problems, and general stress. The paper concluded the…
This fact sheet reports that people with eating disorders have higher death rates than the general population. Death rates are highest for anorexia nervosa (AN). Bulimia nervosa (BN) and eating disorder not otherwise specified (EDNOS) have similar death rates. The sheet says older age at assessment was linked to higher…
This small randomized trial tested a fully automated text-based conversational agent called Woebot as a way to deliver cognitive behavioral therapy to college-age young adults with symptoms of depression and anxiety. Over 2 weeks, the Woebot group (n=34) showed a statistically larger drop in depression scores (PHQ-9) than an information-only…
This randomized, double‑blind, cross‑over trial gave 51 patients with life‑threatening cancer two sessions of psilocybin (one very low dose and one high dose) spaced five weeks apart. The high dose (22–30 mg/70 kg) produced large drops in clinician‑ and self‑rated depression and anxiety, and increased quality of life, meaning, and…
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…
Anxiety disorders are a group of conditions marked by persistent, excessive fear or worry and behaviors (like avoidance) that cause real trouble in daily life. They are the most common class of psychiatric disorder — large surveys report that up to 33.7% of people will have one in their lifetime…
MBSR is able to reduce stress levels in healthy people. However, important limitations of the included studies as well as the paucity of evidence about possible specific effects of MBSR in comparison to other nonspecific treatments underline the necessity of further research.
This systematic review looked at studies from 2000–2018 that measured how common eating disorders are. The authors followed PRISMA rules and included 94 studies with accurate diagnoses and 27 studies with broader categories. Across the accurate-diagnosis studies, women had higher rates than men. Point prevalence estimates rose over time from…
This 2001 review looked at studies on exercise, anxiety, depression, and stress. It found that short-term emotional effects of exercise are mixed, but many cross-sectional and longitudinal studies report that regular aerobic exercise training reduces anxiety and depression symptoms and may protect against the harmful effects of stress. The clearest…
Compass Pathways reported early results from its first Phase 3 trial of synthetic psilocybin (COMP360) for treatment‑resistant depression. In 258 patients, the 25 mg dose showed a statistically significant improvement versus placebo on the MADRS depression scale at week 6 (a 3.6‑point difference, p < 0.001). The Data and Safety…
