Frontier mental health research: psychedelics & drug studies

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.

47 papers

The Worldwide Prevalence of ADHD: A Systematic Review and Metaregression Analysis

Guilherme V. Polanczyk, Maurício Silva de Lima, Bernardo Lessa Horta, Joseph Biederman, Luís Augusto Rohde
American Journal of Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2007 5,230 citations

Our findings suggest that geographic location plays a limited role in the reasons for the large variability of ADHD/HD prevalence estimates worldwide. Instead, this variability seems to be explained primarily by the methodological characteristics of studies.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Cognitive Abilities and Testing

Risks of all-cause and suicide mortality in mental disorders: a meta-review

Edward Chesney, Guy M. Goodwin, Seena Fazel
World Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2014 2,040 citations

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…

Bipolar Disorder and Treatment Mental Health Treatment and Access Suicide and Self-Harm Studies

Prevalence of eating disorders over the 2000–2018 period: a systematic literature review

Marie Galmiche, Pierre Déchelotte, Grégory Lambert, Marie‐Pierre Tavolacci
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition Summary & key facts 2018 1,604 citations

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…

Eating Disorders and Behaviors Obesity, Physical Activity, Diet Obsessive-Compulsive Spectrum Disorders

The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence

Moncrieff, Joanna, Cooper, Ruth E., Stockmann, Tom, et al.
Nature Summary & key facts 2023 830 citations

This umbrella review looked at the best existing reviews and large studies to see if depression is linked to low serotonin or low serotonin activity. Across measures of serotonin in fluids, receptor and transporter studies, tryptophan depletion experiments, and large genetic studies, the evidence was mixed or absent. The authors…

Mental Health Research Topics Treatment of Major Depression Tryptophan and brain disorders

Effectiveness of physical activity interventions for improving depression, anxiety and distress: an overview of systematic reviews

Ben Singh, Tim Olds, Rachel Curtis, Dorothea Dumuid, Rosa Virgara, Amanda Watson, et al.
PubMed Summary & key facts 2023 784 citations

This umbrella review pooled evidence from 97 systematic reviews (1,039 randomized trials, 128,119 participants) to examine whether physical activity affects symptoms of depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adults. Overall, physical activity produced medium-sized reductions in symptoms (median effect size for depression = -0.43, for anxiety = -0.42; distress effect…

Behavioral Health and Interventions Eating Disorders and Behaviors Physical Activity and Health

The global prevalence of ADHD in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Nader Salari, Hooman Ghasemi, Nasrin Abdoli, Adibeh Rahmani, Mohammad Hossain Shiri, Amir Hossein Hashemian, et al.

The authors pooled results from 61 cross-sectional studies to estimate how common ADHD is in children and adolescents worldwide. They found a pooled prevalence of 7.6% (95% CI 6.1–9.4%) in children aged 3–12 (from 96,907 children) and 5.6% (95% CI 4.8–7%) in adolescents aged 12–18. Prevalence estimates varied by age…

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Children's Physical and Motor Development

Social Media Use and Its Connection to Mental Health: A Systematic Review

Fazida Karim, Azeezat Abimbola Oyewande, Lamis F Abdalla, Reem Chaudhry Ehsanullah, Safeera Khan
Cureus Summary & key facts 2020 367 citations

This systematic review looked at research on social media and mental health. The authors state that social media are responsible for making mental health problems worse. They searched 50 papers and, after applying selection rules, included 16 studies. The final papers were checked for quality and included a mix of…

Digital Mental Health Interventions Impact of Technology on Adolescents Social Media in Health Education

The Effects of Tai Chi on Depression, Anxiety, and Psychological Well-Being: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Fang Wang, Eun‐Kyoung Othelia Lee, Taixiang Wu, Herbert Benson, Gregory L. Fricchione, Weidong Wang, et al.

This review collected studies of tai chi up to May 31, 2013 and found that many trials reported benefits for mood and psychological well-being. The authors included 37 randomized controlled trials and 5 quasi-experimental studies from English and Chinese databases. A small pooled analysis of three randomized trials that measured…

Art Therapy and Mental Health Balance, Gait, and Falls Prevention Physical Activity and Health

The prevalence and burden of subthreshold generalized anxiety disorder: a systematic review

Heidemarie Haller, Holger Cramer, Romy Lauche, Florian Gaß, Gustav Dobos
BMC Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2014 270 citations

The article describes “high functioning anxiety” as a way some people with anxiety symptoms talk about their experience, not as an official medical diagnosis. It says people can look successful and cope outwardly while having common anxiety symptoms, and that diagnosis can be hard because the symptom effects may be…

Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum

Medicinal cannabis for psychiatric disorders: a clinically-focused systematic review

Jerome Sarris, Justin Sinclair, Diana Karamacoska, Margaret Davidson, Joseph Firth
BMC Psychiatry Summary & key facts 2020 243 citations

This 2019 systematic review looked at human studies of medicinal cannabis and cannabis-derived isolates for major psychiatric disorders. The authors found that the evidence is very new and limited, so it is too early to recommend cannabis medicines for psychiatric conditions. Some small or isolated studies suggest benefits for a…

Cannabis and Cannabinoid Research Infant Health and Development Sleep and Wakefulness Research

Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments (CANMAT) 2023 Update on Clinical Guidelines for Management of Major Depressive Disorder in Adults: Réseau canadien pour les traitements de l’humeur et de l’anxiété (CANMAT) 2023 : Mise à jour des lignes directrices cliniques pour la prise en charge du trouble dépressif majeur chez les adultes

Raymond W. Lam, Sidney H. Kennedy, G. Camelia Adams, Anees Bahji, Serge Beaulieu, Venkat Bhat, et al.

The CANMAT 2023 update gives doctors clear, up-to-date advice for treating adults with major depressive disorder. It puts evidence into a practical, clinician-friendly format. The update says treatment should be a team effort between patients and clinicians, be tailored to each person, and follow a planned, systematic process with regular…

Mental Health Research Topics Treatment of Major Depression Tryptophan and brain disorders

The effects of physical activity on cortisol and sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Len De Nys, Kerry Anderson, Esther Frema Ofosu, Gemma C. Ryde, Jenni Connelly, Anna C. Whittaker
Psychoneuroendocrinology Summary & key facts 2022 227 citations

This review combined results from 10 intervention studies to see if physical activity programs change cortisol (a stress hormone) and sleep in adults. The pooled results found lower cortisol after activity programs and some improvement in sleep quality. The authors say the evidence is moderate for cortisol and low for…

Circadian rhythm and melatonin Physical Activity and Health Sleep and related disorders
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