MFP/ANA e-Newsletter: July 25, 2025

MENTAL HEALTH, SUBSTANCE USE, AND NURSING ARTICLES

Advancing mental health care and research in rare diseases (opens new window)

Rare diseases are defined as those that affect fewer than 1 in 2000 people in any WHO region. Over 7000 such diseases are known and more than 300 million people globally (between 3·5% and 5·9% of the population) are estimated to live with one of these diseases. As 72% of rare diseases are genetic and 70% of them start in childhood, effects on mental health are often lifelong and family-wide. The prevalence of depression (39·3% of patients with rare diseases) and anxiety (44·2% of patients with rare diseases) is substantially higher in patients with rare diseases than in the general population (depression 10·8–20·6%; anxiety disorders 16·6%). Read more (opens new window)

High as a kite: motherhood and psychosis (opens new window)

“Stop pushing!” These two words are not often heard in a maternity delivery room. But barely an hour after my waters broke, after just a few contractions, this is what my obstetrician said to me. So, I stopped pushing and moments later my first child was born—Holly (in a hurry) rushed feet-first into the world, courtesy of a natural breech delivery. There had been no time to prepare an operating theatre for the scheduled C-section, not even time for the anaesthetist to arrive. But none of that mattered. Read more (opens new window)

First Pill for Postpartum Depression Shows Varied Real-World Results (opens new window)

Some women’s symptoms improved quickly after taking the pill, but depression persisted in others. Doctors are trying to learn which patients benefit, and why some don’t. Depression descended on Samantha Cohn about two months after her baby boy was born. He was thriving, but she became convinced she was a terrible mother. “I felt like I wasn’t doing enough, I wasn’t doing anything right,” she said. She began to think her son and husband might be better off without her. When the baby was about 5 months old, she tried to take her life with a gun. Read more (opens new window)

Prescription and Nonprescription Drug Use Among People With Eating Disorders (opens new window)

Eating disorders (EDs) are serious mental health conditions characterized by persistent disturbances in eating behaviors, related thoughts, and emotions. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fifth Edition) (DSM-5) currently identifies 8 relevant disorders with specific characteristics and symptoms: binge-eating disorder (BED), bulimia nervosa (BN), anorexia nervosa (AN), avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID), other specified feeding or ED (OSFED), unspecified feeding or ED, rumination disorder, and pica. Read more (opens new window)

Protecting the Developing Mind in a Digital Age: A Global Policy Imperative (opens new window)

The global rise in smartphone and social media use has dramatically reshaped childhood and adolescence, with algorithmically engineered digital environments increasingly influencing young people’s capabilities and functionings. This paper draws on data from the Global Mind Project to examine the population-level impacts of childhood smartphone ownership on mind health and wellbeing in young adulthood. Our analysis reveals that receiving a smartphone before age 13 is associated with poorer mind health outcomes in young adulthood, particularly among females, including suicidal thoughts, detachment from reality, poorer emotional regulation, and diminished self-worth. Read more (opens new window)  (opens new window)

Kids who own smartphones before age 13 have worse mental health outcomes: Study (opens new window)

Children, especially girls, who own smartphones before they are 13 years old may have worse mental health outcomes when they're older, a new study suggests. The study, published Sunday in the Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, analyzed self-reported questionnaire results from more than 100,000 young adults between the ages of 18 and 24. The questionnaire asked respondents about mental health symptoms, such as having aggression, feelings of detachment, hallucinations and suicidal thoughts. Those who were given smartphones at an earlier age were associated with worse mental health outcomes for every year of smartphone ownership before the age of 13. Read more (opens new window)

Surrogates at greater risk of new mental illness than women carrying own babies, study finds (opens new window)

Surrogates have a greater chance of being newly diagnosed with a mental illness during and after pregnancy than women who carry their own offspring, researchers have found. In addition, regardless of how they conceived, women with a previous record of mental illness were found to have a higher risk of being diagnosed with such conditions during and after pregnancy than those without. Read more (opens new window)

HOTLINE RESOURCES

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (opens new window) or 1-800-273-TALK (8255) 

The Substance and Mental Health Services Administration (opens new window) provides COVID-19 guidance and resources to assist individuals, providers, communities and sates across the country. The website is updated daily.

The National CLAS Standards

The National CLAS Standards are a set of 15 action steps intended to advance health equity, improve quality, and help eliminate health care disparities by providing a blueprint for individuals and health and health care organizations to implement culturally and linguistically appropriate services. View the standards here (opens new window)