Bloomberg Law (3/6, Lopez, Subscription Publication) reports, “The 988 suicide prevention services hotline is rolling out 24/7text message and chat services for LGBTQI+ youth, building on a pilot program launched amid a mental health crisis.” As of Monday, these “text and chat services will be available around the clock, according to a spokesperson for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or SAMHSA, which oversees 988.”

Related Links:

— “988 Suicide Prevention Line Ramps Up LGBTQI+ Chat, Text Services “Ian Lopez, Bloomberg Law, March 6, 2023

Medscape (3/6, Brooks, Subscription Publication) reports, “Vitamin D supplementation has the potential to be a viable dementia prevention strategy, especially when initiated early…research suggests.” In the “large prospective cohort study, people who took vitamin D were 40% less likely to develop dementia than peers who did not take vitamin D.” According to the findings published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia: Diagnosis, Assessment and Disease Monitoring, “the effects of vitamin D were most pronounced in women, those with normal cognitive function, and apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 noncarriers.”

Related Links:

— Medscape (requires login and subscription)

ABC News (3/6, Westman) reports, “The popularity around weight loss drugs…is worrying eating disorder experts, who say the conversation risks making recovery harder and could put others at risk of developing disorders.” Medications including semaglutide injection 0.5 mg, 1 mg, or 2 mg (Ozempic) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro) “were originally developed and FDA approved to treat people with Type 2 diabetes” but they can “also lead to weight loss, and many doctors also prescribe them off-label to patients with obesity.” But now, “celebrities and public figures are either taking or are rumored to take these drugs, as are others who” do not have overweight “but who have the means to pay for a prescription out of pocket.”

Related Links:

— “Eating disorder experts are worried about diabetes drugs like Ozempic being used for weight loss “Nicole Wetsman, ABC News, March 6, 2023

HealthDay (3/3, Mozes) reported, “Alarmed by the increasing spread of medical misinformation, 50 U.S. medical and science organizations have announced the formation of a new group that aims to debunk fake health news.” The new group, called the Coalition for Trust in Health & Science, “brings together reputable associations representing American academics, researchers, scientists,” physicians, “nurses, pharmacists, drug and insurance companies, consumer advocates, public health professionals and even medical ethicists.” The American Medical Association is among the “groups that have currently signed on.”

Related Links:

— “Dozens of Medical Groups Launch Effort to Battle Health Misinformation “Alan Mozes, HealthDay, March 3, 2023

USA Today (3/5, Collins) reports that as the Russia-Ukraine war “enters its second year,” a five-month-old, “first-of-its-kind mental health center in” the city Lviv “shows how Ukraine is making mental health a big-picture priority in the midst of” the conflict. The article adds, “Officially known as the Lviv Mental Health Center, the 5,000-square-foot renovated space offers free and low-cost services from about a dozen professional psychotherapists and psychiatrists,” and its “goal is to treat wounded Ukrainian soldiers and locals suffering from PTSD and other stress-related conditions brought on by the war.”

Related Links:

— “In war-torn Ukraine, a first-of-its-kind mental health center aims to heal as ‘part of our survival’ “Terry Collins, USA TODAY, March 5, 2023