Could you recommend some good magazines?

_Diabetes Interview_ is a popular monthly tabloid with a variety of 
news stories, interviews, and lots and lots of advertising. It's run by 
a journalist, Scott King, and it shows. Authority, to this publication, 
always lies in people they talk to. They don't appear to read 
scientific or medical literature as the basis or support for stories. 
They do publish research summaries, but these are at the newswire level 
with no apparent critical reading. No critical commentary accompanies 
interviews.

Publisher Scott King has pursued some valuable projects, such as 
organizing letter-writing to Ann Landers after she tried to shove 
dining-out diabetics into the closet -- Landers published King's own 
excellent letter. He has certainly advanced the cause of open 
discussion of diabetes in general. But _Diabetes Interview_ has been 
sidetracked needlessly at times, such as by allocating seriously 
inordinate abounts of space and attention to minor issues such as the 
animal/human insulin debate. They also regularly run a paid 
advertisement for an herbal product which claims to "restore pancreatic 
function" -- probably an illegal claim in the US.

_Diabetes Interview_ offers a sample (one article per week) as an 
electronic mailing list and many articles on their web site. See the 
section on "Online resources: diabetes-related mailing lists" for 
information on the mailing list.

_Diabetes Interview_ subscription information: one year, US$20 in the 
US, US$31 in CA and MX, $46 in other countries. Cancel after the first 
issue if you don't like it

   Diabetes Interview
   3715 Balboa Street
   San Francisco, CA 94121
   http://www.diabetesworld.com
   phone: +1 415 387 4002
              US 800-234-1218

_Diabetes Self-Management_ is a bimonthly magazine containing generally 
detailed articles oriented to helping patients with techniques and 
skills -- diet, exercise, treatment, outlook, etc. They go into areas 
not often covered, such as a recent series by Ann Williams on 
low-vision tools and coping skills. The writers tend to have in-depth 
knowledge of their fields and the information is well balanced. The 
magazine emphasizes practical skills over basic knowledge, and spreads 
itself a bit thin by trying to address itself to all diabetics. Those 
who dislike Diabetes Forecast will find similar coverage in Diabetes 
Self-Management but with more depth and aimed at a better educated 
audience.

The _Diabetes Self-Management_ web site has full text of numerous 
articles from back issues, about two articles from each issue.

_Diabetes Self-Management_ costs US$14/yr, or US$36/yr outside the US 
and CA. To order, mail payment, call, or look on their website. They'll 
send a free trial issue if you wish.

   Diabetes Self-Management
   P. O. Box 52890
   Boulder, CO 80322
   http://www.diabetes-self-mgmt.com/
   US phone: 800-234-0923

Everything else I have to recommend comes from the ADA (see section on 
ADA).

Here's what the ADA says about its own publications:

    _Diabetes_ -- the world's most-cited journal of basic diabetes
    research brings you the latest findings from the world's top
    scientists.
    
    _Diabetes Care_ -- the premier journal of clinical diabetes research
    and treatment. _Diabetes Care_ keeps you current with original
    research reports, commentaries, and reviews.
    
    _Diabetes Reviews_ (in memoriam) -- the comprehensive but concise
    review articles in ADA's newest journal are a convenient way for
    the busy clinician to keep up-to-date on what's truly new in
    research. Sadly, Diabetes Reviews ceased publication at the end
    of 1999, a victim of the fact that medical libraries face a
    crisis of rising subscription costs but flat budgets. The seven
    volumes which were published are still an invaluable resource.
     
    _Diabetes Spectrum_ -- translates research into practice for nurses,
    dietitians, and other health-care professionals involved in patient
    education and counseling.
    
    _Clinical Diabetes_ -- For the primary-care physician as well as
    other health-care professionals, this newsletter offers articles
    and abstracts highlighting recent advances in diabetes treatment.
    
    _Diabetes Forecast_ -- ADA's magazine for patients and their
    families features advice on diet, exercise, and other lifestyle
    changes, plus the latest developments in new technology and
    research. It is a valuable tool for patient education.

Now for my own opinions.

_Diabetes Forecast_ is the mass market magazine, intended to be readable
by all literate diabetics. For US$24/year you can hardly go wrong. The
biggest problem with DF is that in the attempt to reach almost
everyone, it aims at a very low reading level -- perhaps eighth grade,
I'm not sure. This makes it tonally annoying and dilutes the
information content. Still, it contains useful information and is
excellent at promoting self-care and a positive self-image for persons
with diabetes.

_Diabetes Forecast_ is also one of the best places to look for
advertisements for diabetes-related products.

The remaining journals are of interest if you want to follow what is new
and under investigation in medical practice and research. The journals
vary in difficulty of reading. Though some knowledge of statistics and
chemistry helps, a general acquaintance with scientific method is
perhaps more important, and a smattering of familiarity with medical
terminology helps most. Luckily, medical terminology is basically
simple -- it mostly consists of putting together roots and affixes to
make specific terms. Learn a few dozen roots and you can make out most
of it. Try to have a dictionary at hand at first.

_Diabetes Care_ publishes papers on clinical research. I find many of
the papers to be interesting and applicable to my own management. With
the demise of _Diabetes Reviews_, DC plans to publish more review
articles as well.

_Diabetes_ is the ADA's journal primarily for basic research. Some of
the articles are interesting, but they run much more toward
biochemistry and mechanisms of metabolism. As important as basic
research is, few of the reports say little of value directly to
patients.

_Diabetes Spectrum_ is oriented toward health care practitioners.
It consists of reprints of important articles (sometimes several on
a topic) and summaries of related articles, plus original
commentaries from other authors. As such, it provides a broad
overview of topics for readers who don't have time to track down
lots of separate original articles. If you only have time to read
one technical publication, _Diabetes Spectrum_ is perhaps the best
choice -- the only competitor for this place is _Clinical Diabetes_.

_Clinical Diabetes_ contains focussed articles written specifically
for health care practitioners. It's very readable and to to the
point, another good choice for those wanting higher level reading
but not research articles.

The ADA has price structures for regular members and professional
members. A basic regular membership with _Diabetes Forecast_ is
US$24/year (in the US, $41.93 in Canada, $39 in Mexico, $49 elsewhere,
all in US funds). The other ADA journals will set you back about
US$90-120/year apiece. A professional membership allows you to pick and
choose journals at the listed rates; if you plan to get either
_Diabetes_ or _Diabetes Care_ you should enter a professional
membership to get the best prices. Credentials are not required for a
professional membership.

The ADA takes checks, money orders, Visa, Mastercard and American
Excess. Unfortunately, orders of books from outside the USA incur an
additional $15 shipping charge.

You can get more ADA info online, including an online catalog for all
books and magazines, at

  http://www.diabetes.org

Phone numbers

   1-800-232-3472
   +1 703 549 1500
   +1 703 549 6995 fax

or write

   American Diabetes Association
   Subscription Services
   1660 Duke Street
   Alexandria, VA 22314
   USA