Nearly 1 in 5 people with COPD in Lithuania had a recorded diagnosis of anxiety or depression, according to a nationwide study of 64,246 patients. Anxiety was far more common than depression, and most patients who received medication were prescribed benzodiazepines.1 Research Highlights 18.1% had a recorded diagnosis: 11,608 of 64,246 adults with COPD in …
A 327-person eye-tracking study found that anxiety disorders carried a hyper-scanning and hyper-pursuit signature, separating anxiety patients from healthy controls with AUC 0.82.1 The same eye-movement data separated anxiety from depression poorly, so the result is better read as a behavioral arousal marker than as a ready diagnostic test. Research Highlights Anxiety vs controls separated …
An 11-person case series tested delayed-release apple cider vinegar capsules in young adults who had gained weight while taking psychotropic medications, and metabolic markers carried more signal than weight loss. Research Highlights Feasibility was the strongest result: 11 of 12 enrolled participants completed the study, 10 of 11 completers missed 5 or fewer doses, and …
A 2026 multimodal MRI analysis of 509 healthy adults found that fear acquisition, extinction learning, and renewal were not predicted by one generic “fear circuit” score: functional connectivity predicted acquisition, structural connectivity predicted extinction, and effective connectivity was the only renewal signal.1 The extinction result is the clinically interesting piece because exposure therapy depends on …
The relationship between cannabis use (CU) and anxiety disorders (AD) is a topic of ongoing debate and research within the scientific community. While some studies suggest cannabis can have anxiolytic (anxiety-reducing) effects, others point to anxiogenic (anxiety-inducing) outcomes, especially with habitual use. This nuanced interplay between cannabis and anxiety highlights the importance of understanding individual …
Anxiety-related disorders, characterized by heightened negative affect (NA) and sometimes diminished positive affect (PA), pose significant challenges for mental health treatment. Despite the prevalence of these disorders, the efficacy of psychotherapies in improving PA versus NA remains underexplored. Highlights: Psychotherapeutic interventions demonstrate a significantly larger effect on reducing negative affect (NA) than on enhancing positive …
In the quest to understand anxiety disorders more profoundly, scientists have turned to the rhythms of the heart, specifically heart rate variability (HRV), for answers. By employing wearable technology in a novel study design, researchers have uncovered intriguing insights into how the variability in our heartbeats might be linked to anxiety disorders. This approach not …