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.
In a community study of 3,021 adolescents and young adults followed for 4–5 years, researchers used structured interviews (DSM‑IV CIDI) and found that most anxiety disorders (except panic disorder) began before depression and were linked to a higher chance of later major depression. Rates of people having both anxiety and…
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…
This paper is a systematic review of 74 English-language studies from 1995–2019 that looked at how postpartum stress, including depressive and anxiety symptoms in mothers, is linked to infant outcomes. The review found consistent associations between higher postpartum stress and worse infant growth, development, feeding, attachment and sleep. The authors…
Postpartum depression (PPD) is a common problem after childbirth. Most studies find rates around 10%–15% in high-income countries, and rates can be much higher in poorer settings. Untreated PPD is linked with problems in mother–baby bonding and with worse child development. Screening in routine obstetric, pediatric, or primary care visits…
Researchers studied 85 married couples (170 people) to see if worries about close relationships (attachment anxiety) link to stress hormones and immune cells. People with higher attachment anxiety had higher saliva cortisol across three days and lower counts of several T-cell types in blood. The study is observational, mostly white…
Maternity blues, also called baby blues, are short-lived mood changes after childbirth that can include tearfulness, irritability, anxiety, sleep and concentration problems. A recent review reports an overall prevalence of about 39% (studies ranged from 13.7% to 76%), but definitions and measurements vary widely. Symptoms usually start in the first…
This meta-analysis combined 121 studies (from 4,927 articles found) about young people aged 6–24 (pooled mean age ≈ 17.7 years). It found that perfectionistic concerns (worry about making mistakes, fear of negative evaluation) were moderately linked to more symptoms of anxiety (r = .37–.41), OCD (r = .42), and depression…
Many people have mood or anxiety problems during pregnancy and in the year after birth. About a quarter of people develop a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder, and these can include postpartum depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, and, rarely, psychosis. These conditions are often not diagnosed, but studies and clinical guidance…
This review examines mental health problems that can happen after childbirth, called postpartum mood disorders. It explains the main types, how they are identified, the limits of current diagnosis, common treatments, and how culture and stigma can stop people from getting help. The authors urge more awareness, better support, and…
Many women have mood problems during pregnancy and after birth. In the U.S., about 1 in 8 women report postpartum depression symptoms (about 460,000 women a year), and some states report rates as high as 1 in 5. In Australia, up to 1 in 5 mothers report perinatal depression or…
Brexanolone (brand name ZULRESSO) is an FDA-approved drug for moderate-to-severe postpartum depression. In trials it reduced depressive symptoms quickly and had mostly mild side effects, but it is given by IV in a monitored inpatient setting because it can cause heavy sleepiness and even loss of consciousness. It is not…
This study combined results from 14 research papers to see whether mindfulness programs help adults with ADHD. The pooled data covered 834 adults and came from searches of PsycINFO, PubMed, SCOPUS, and ERIC up to July 2019. Overall, the meta-analysis found that mindfulness-based interventions reduced ADHD symptoms, lowered depression, and…
