A new study from Duke University noted that years of frequent hostility and depression may harm men's immune systems and put them at risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. They are also more likely to have increased levels of C3, an immune system protein associated with chronic inflammation. "Hostile, depressed and angry people see the world around them in a different way, and sometimes they see it as them against the world…That kind of lifestyle often leads to greater stress and possibly changes in the way the body functions that could lead to disease." said study co-author Edward Suarez.

Additional studies have shown a relationship between elevated levels of C3 and chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. In one, the team at Duke studied 313 male Vietnam veterans over a 10-year period. They were all evaluated using standard psychological tests to evaluate for anger, depression, or hostility. On three occasions, the men's blood was tested, looking for changes in levels of C3 and C4, immune system proteins that are markers of an inflammatory process related to the body's response to infection or injury. According to the researchers, the men whose psychological testing revealed the greatest amount of hostility, depression, and anger had a 7.1 percent increase in C3 levels while men with low scores on the test showed no change in C3 over the decade. Other risk factors such as age, race, smoking, alcohol use, body mass index, and Agent Orange exposure had no influence on these levels. Interestingly, levels of C4 did not change for either group.

We have several programs which address these issues and can be used by instructors for nursing, social work, or psychology students, hospitals, and social service agencies. They include:

• Psychotropic Medications (644)
• Mood Disorders (663)
• Anxiety Disorders(676)
• Cardiac Disorders: Heart Failure(116)
• Cardiac Disorders: Coronary Artery Disease (115)
• Electrical Therapy for the Heart (502)
• Diabetes (685)

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) affects men and women differently according to a study of 1,000 COPD patients, with almost 39 percent of them female. According to the researchers, emphysema is more common in men while bronchitis is seen more often in women. Their bodies also react differently to cigarette smoke. In addition, women experience more breathlessness and have more bouts of depression than men, leading them to have a lower quality of life.

At this time, the reason for these differences is unknown. It may be due to gender, hormones, genetics, or even response to environmental factors. Regardless of the cause, it is important to raise the awareness of COPD in women for several reasons. One is that their treatments may be different than those for men. Another is the death rate. This is the fourth consecutive year that more women (63,000) than men (59,000) have died in the US from COPD.

Our series, Chronic Respiratory Disorders (118), has a program COPD (118.1) which uses art, graphics, and scenarios to describe and illustrate the pathophysiology of the disease as well as its signs and symptoms.

Research by the US Army found that children of enlisted soldiers are more likely to be abused or neglected when a parent is deployed to a combat zone. "The practical implication is that child maltreatment incidents are much more likely to occur during soldier deployments than during other times, and this really underlines the necessity of formal and informal support for parents who are going through this," said Deborah A. Gibbs, lead author of the study. "Our findings really put a number on the extent of the problem and suggest the areas in which supports are most necessary."

We have an award winning series, Child Abuse (658) which describes vulnerable child syndrome and also presents detailed information on neglect as well as sexual, psychological, and physical abuse. Scenarios are used throughout to illustrate salient points. The programs can be used for nursing, social work, psychology, education, or child development majors as well as clinics, schools, after-school programs, social work agencies, and hospitals ( to help meet The Joint Commission requirement).

Concept Media produces and distributes award winning education media for colleges, healthcare institutions, social service agencies and counseling centers throughout North America, Europe, and the South Pacific. Most programs come in VHS, DVD and CD formats. Site Licenses and Distance Learning packages are also available for our library of programs.

Concept Media is best known in the area of professional nursing education and represented in more than 95% of the nation's nursing school media libraries. We have developed partnerships with leading nursing education institutions including Brigham Young University, Drexel University, and ICN/ Washington State University College of Nursing. Concept Media is well-respected and has received numerous awards for programs on diabetes, human development, mental health, substance abuse, counseling, and addiction.

For your convenience, Concept Media also offers additional resources in the form of Instructor's Guides which are available online. And, in keeping with our mission to focus on the needs of educators in the healthcare field, we invite you to call with any suggestions, questions, program requests, or ways in which we can better serve you.

We would like to hear from you. Please email us on any topics you would like to see covered in Hot Topics.

hottopics@conceptmedia.com. Or call us at (800) 233-7078.