Cardiovascular diseases are among the leading causes of morbidity and mortality, particularly in individuals with type 2 diabetes. There is a need for new biomarkers to improve the prediction of cardiovascular events and overall mortality. We investigated the association of selected atherosclerosis related biomarkers, specifically osteoprotegerin (OPG), 25-hydroxy-vitamin D (25(OH)D), C-reactive protein (CRP), lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP), and asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), with the occurrence of any cardiovascular event or all-cause mortality (primary outcome) during a 5.6-year follow-up of 190 patients with type 2 diabetes. Data were analyzed using logistic regression to adjust for baseline cardiovascular status and cardiovascular risk factors. The primary outcome occurred in 89 participants (46.8%) during the study. When analyzed individually, 25(OH)D, CRP, and LBP significantly predicted the primary outcome in multivariable models. However, in a model that included all biomarkers, only a decreased level of 25(OH)D remained a significant predictor of the primary outcome. Moreover, the level of 25(OH)D significantly predicted all-cause mortality: a reduction of 10 ng/mL was associated with a two-fold increase in all-cause mortality. Our study thus demonstrates that vitamin D deficiency was the strongest factor associated with the primary outcome and all-cause mortality after a 5.6-year follow-up in patients with type 2 diabetes at high cardiovascular risk.

Background: Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of long-term mortality among breast cancer survivors, yet chemotherapy-induced dyslipidemia remains an underrecognized component of survivorship care. Methods: In this prospective, single-center study, 56 women with clinical stage IB–IIIB early breast cancer received standardized anthracycline- and taxane-based chemotherapy. Fasting lipid profiles including low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), total cholesterol, and triglycerides, were assessed at four timepoints: baseline, post–anthracycline–cyclophosphamide phase, end of treatment, and 3-month follow-up. Longitudinal changes were analysed using non-parametric tests and multivariable linear regression. Results: Baseline dyslipidemia was present in 78.4% of patients. Chemotherapy significantly altered all lipid parameters, with changes in total cholesterol ( p = 0.004), LDL-C ( p = 0.007), HDL-C ( p < 0.001), and triglycerides ( p = 0.002). The most pronounced alterations occurred during the anthracycline-based phase. Elevated LDL-C and reduced HDL-C levels persisted at follow-up. Lipid changes were not consistently associated with age, BMI, or menopausal status. Conclusion: Standard chemotherapy induces sustained proatherogenic lipid shifts in women with early breast cancer, independent of baseline cardiovascular risk factors. The unexpectedly high prevalence of dyslipidemia among premenopausal women challenges traditional assumptions of cardiometabolic protection in younger patients. These findings support the integration of lipid monitoring and early cardiovascular risk management into survivorship care. Clinical Trial Registration: NCT06958783, https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06958783 .

The aim of the study was to analyze changes in platelet count and function in hospitalized COVID-19 patients and compare them with non-COVID-19 patients, focusing on the association between platelet indices and mortality beyond the known link between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and COVID-19 severity. The study sample consisted of 572 patients, out of which 472 were hospitalized with COVID-19 infection from 15th October 2021 to 30th April 2022 in Louis Pasteur University Hospital Kosice, Slovak Republic and 100 represented the control group without COVID-19 infection. COVID-19 positive patients (n=472) had significantly larger size of platelets (MPV 9.2±1.4 vs. 8.8±1.2, p=0.002) and therefore a higher percentage of platelets larger than 12 fl (P-LCR 33.7 % vs. 24.8 %, p=0.002) than patients in the control group (non-COVID19). The statistically significant relationship was between mortality in patients with COVID-19 infection (n=122) and the larger size of the platelets (MPV), higher platelet large cell ratio, (P-LCR), higher PLT/MPV ratio, higher platelet distribution width to plateletcrit ratio (PDW/PCT), higher neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) (p˂0.001, respectively) and lower platelet count (PLT) and lower plateletcrit (PCT) (p=0.006; p=0.028; respectively). In multivariable logistic regression analysis, a significant positive correlation between mortality, MPV (OR 2.29; 95 % CI 1.70-3.08, p˂0.001) and age (OR 1.06; 1.03-1.08, p˂0.001) was observed. When NLR was included into this model, MPV was stronger predictor of mortality (OR 2.48; 95 % CI 1.79-3.43, p˂0.001) compared to NLR (OR 1.06; 95 % CI 1.03-1.08, p˂0.001) and age (OR 1.04; 95 % CI 1.02-1.07, p˂0.001). MPV is a strong and independent predictor of mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, demonstrating superior prognostic value compared to established association between neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and COVID-19 severity. As a simple and routinely available parameter from standard blood count, MPV may serve as a practical and accessible tool for early risk stratification in the clinical management of COVID-19.