Children and Adolescents With ADHD Had Roughly 6x the Depression Rate of Peers in 24-Study Meta-Analysis

Children and Adolescents With ADHD Had Roughly 6x the Depression Rate of Peers in 24-Study Meta-Analysis

TL;DR: A 2025 meta-analysis in the Journal of Attention Disorders pooled 24 studies (N=6,815) and estimated that 11.31% of children and adolescents with ADHD had co-occurring depression — about six times the rate seen in neurotypical peers in head-to-head case-control studies (~12% vs ~2%). Key Findings Pooled depression rate of 11.31% across 24 studies: The …

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Subcallosal Cingulate May Guide Depression Stimulation

Subcallosal Cingulate May Guide Depression Stimulation

TL;DR: A 2026 systematic review in Translational Psychiatry found that depression brain-stimulation studies repeatedly linked treatment response to subcallosal cingulate connectivity, but inconsistent methods still limit its use as a treatment-selection biomarker. Key Findings 28 studies met criteria: The review included resting-state functional MRI (fMRI), a scan that tracks blood-flow changes as a proxy for …

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Postpartum Depression Meta-Analysis Linked Brain Activity to Neurotransmitter Maps

Postpartum Depression Meta-Analysis Linked Brain Activity to Neurotransmitter Maps

TL;DR: A 2026 meta-analysis in Psychological Medicine found postpartum depression (PPD) brain-activity differences across default-mode, limbic, and sensorimotor regions, with spatial overlap in serotonin, dopamine, and vesicular acetylcholine transporter maps. Key Findings 12 imaging studies pooled: The meta-analysis included 475 postpartum depression patients and 504 healthy controls. Higher activity appeared in two regions: PPD was …

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Mental Health Brain Biomarker Studies Were Mostly Small and Cross-Sectional

Mental Health Brain Biomarker Studies Were Mostly Small and Cross-Sectional

TL;DR: A 2026 review in BMC Psychiatry found 441 primary MRI and electroencephalogram (EEG), a scalp recording of brain electrical activity, mental-health biomarker studies, but most were small, cross-sectional, and concentrated in depression, making routine clinical use premature. Key Findings 58,824 records screened: Researchers searched MEDLINE and Embase from 2010 to September 2023, then mapped …

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Inflammation Markers Did Not Track Depression or Alcohol Use

Inflammation Markers Did Not Track Depression or Alcohol Use

TL;DR: A 2026 study in Brain, Behavior, & Immunity – Health found that depression symptoms, alcohol use, and alcohol use disorder (AUD) symptoms were not associated with C-reactive protein (CRP), a blood inflammation marker, or a pro-inflammatory cytokine index in 972 community adults, and twin analyses suggested familial confounding explained several cytokine-AUD links. Key Findings …

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Monocyte Epigenetic Aging Tracked Non-Somatic Depression in Women With and Without HIV

Monocyte Epigenetic Aging Tracked Non-Somatic Depression in Women With and Without HIV

TL;DR: A 2026 study in The Journals of Gerontology, Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences measured a monocyte-specific DNA methylation clock (MonoDNAmAge) in 440 women with and without HIV, and found that accelerated monocyte epigenetic aging was specifically linked to non-somatic depressive symptoms (anhedonia, hopelessness, cognitive impacts) but not to broader depression severity, supporting …

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ECT Was Not Linked to Long-Term Dementia Harm in Adjusted Data

ECT Looks Safer in the Long Run Than Its Reputation

ECT Looks Safer in the Long Run Than Its Reputation TL;DR: A British Journal of Psychiatry review argues that modern population-level studies do not support a long-term increase in dementia or major cardiovascular risk after electroconvulsive therapy and instead point toward lower suicide mortality and all-cause mortality in the patients who receive it. Key Findings …

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Body Roundness Index Predicted Depression Symptoms in Dementia

Body Roundness Index Flagged Depression Risk in Dementia

Body Roundness Index Flagged Depression Risk in Dementia TL;DR: Body roundness index, not BMI, flagged a dementia subgroup with more than threefold higher odds of depressive symptoms. Key Findings Highest BRI tripled odds: Among people with dementia, those in the highest body-roundness quartile had more than threefold greater odds of depressive symptoms than those in …

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Esketamine Was Not “Cost-Effective” for Treatment-Resistant Depression in Hong Kong

Esketamine Lost the Cost-Effectiveness Race in Hong Kong

Esketamine Lost the Cost-Effectiveness Race in Hong Kong TL;DR: A 5-year Hong Kong model found esketamine plus an antidepressant bought only a small quality-adjusted survival gain at US$29,061 per patient, leaving it behind cheaper third-line options like combination therapy. Key Findings Seven third-line strategies modeled: A Markov cohort model followed adults with treatment-resistant depression in …

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Low CSF Ethanolamine Linked to Major Depression, Levels Increase After ECT

Ethanolamine Could Be a Depression Biomarker and Treatment Target

Ethanolamine Looked Like a Depression Biomarker and Treatment Target TL;DR: In a 380-person cerebrospinal fluid dataset, patients with active major depression had lower ethanolamine levels than controls, those levels rose after electroconvulsive therapy, and parallel rat experiments suggested the molecule may be more than just a marker. Key Findings 380-person cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the fluid …

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