By increasing physical activity, children with type 1 diabetes mellitus can improve their cardiovascular risk profile by lowering both lipoprotein levels and diastolic blood pressure as well as having better glycemic control. According to researcher Antje Herbst, MD, "Patients with type 1 diabetes have a fourfold (in men) to eightfold (in women) excess risk of coronary heart disease compared with that for the general population...It has been shown that type 1 diabetic patients aged 20 to 39 years have a fivefold higher risk of dying from cardio- and cerebrovascular events compared with that for healthy individuals.... Thus, there is an urgent need for prevention strategies to reduce these risk factors in childhood and adolescence." Because physical activity has been shown to be beneficial, it should be incorporated in all patient and family education. Our award-winning series on Diabetes (685) describes cardiovascular risks as well as glycemic control issues. It can be used for nursing students as well as by hospitals for staff orientation, updates, or inservices.

According to researchers, waist size may be a better indicator of risk of heart disease than stepping on a scale. People with larger waistlines, even if they are not overweight, are more likely to show the early signs of heart disease than those with smaller waists. In fact, they noted that the smaller the waist, the clearer the arteries. "Inches are as important as pounds," said cardiologist Dr. James de Lemos, who led the study. His team also noted that after accounting for high cholesterol, high blood pressure and other risk factors, weight alone did not predict early artery clogging, but waist size did. According to U.S. government guidelines, men should aim to have a waist 40 inches or less in circumference, while women's waistlines should be no more than 35 inches. Our series Cardiac Disorders: Coronary Artery Disease (116) and Cardiac Disorders: Heart Failure (115) are excellent resources for schools of nursing as well as hospitals for orientation and staff development.

Law Enforcement officials often have to make rapid decisions. Many times, they are dealing with out-of-control individuals who are actually mentally ill. Disorders ranging from schizophrenia to post-traumatic stress disorder affect many of those incarcerated. Treatment for these individuals is haphazard at best. In fact, more Americans receive mental health care in prisons and jails than in hospitals or treatment centers. The largest psychiatric facility in the USA is at Rikers Island, the New York City prison facility which houses over 3,000 inmates with some form of mental illness.

Many police officers are not trained to handle these individuals. This can lead to dangerous situations or violence as well as unwarranted arrests and imprisonment for the people who need treatment rather than jail. To deal with this issue, Crisis Intervention Teams (CIT), which were developed in Memphis, are now used in many jurisdictions when officers are faced with psychotic individuals. Members of these teams are shown techniques such as speaking softly, using gestures, and wearing civilian clothing rather than uniforms when dealing with people with psychotic disorders. Our programs on mental health can be used by law enforcement, social services, counselors, health care professionals, and others dealing with individuals with these disorders. Titles include: Anxiety Disorders (676), Personality Disorders (667), Schizophrenia ( 635), Mood Disorders (663) Mental Health Issues in the Acute Care Setting (201), and Psychotropic Medications (644).

French researchers report that caffeine may reduce cognitive decline in women without dementia. Women who drank more than three cups of coffee per day had less decline during four years of follow-up compared with those who drank one cup or less. Interestingly, this effect was not seen in men. "Caffeine is a psychostimulant which appears to reduce cognitive decline in women," said lead study author Karen Ritchie, PhD. "While we have some ideas as to how this works biologically, we need to have a better understanding of how caffeine affects the brain before we can start promoting caffeine intake as a way to reduce cognitive decline," she noted. "But the results are interesting—caffeine use is already widespread and it has fewer side effects than other treatments for cognitive decline, and it requires a relatively small amount for a beneficial effect." We have numerous programs in gerontology: Assessing the Elderly (617), Caring for Individuals with Cognitive and Sensory Challenges (682), Dementia with Dignity (203), Medication Challenges in the Elderly (683), and the award-winning short film, See Me (690.5). These programs can be used for students or professionals in nursing, home-care, social work, and psychology.

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.