It is well acknowledged that most of the modifiable risk factors for Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) can be averted through lifestyle modifications beyond medication adherence. This review aims to critically evaluate the cardiometabolic (CM) patient-related factors that influence the adherence to lifestyle changes studied alone and/or in combination with medication. A comprehensive literature search of PubMed articles from 2000 to 2023 retrieved 379 articles. After removing the articles which were not relevant, a total of 28 cross-sectional studies was chosen (12 qualitative, and 16 quantitative). The findings confirmed that five groups of factors influence patients’ adherence to overall treatment: (1) health beliefs, knowledge, and perceptions regarding the risks and challenges of disease and medication intake along with adherence process perceptions; (2) self-concept; (3) emotions; (4) patient–healthcare providers relationship/communication and (5) social and cultural interactions. It is worth mentioning that cultural issues, such as culinary particularities, ethnic identity, social life as well as patients’ skills and abilities, play a profound role in the effectiveness of the recommended lifestyle modifications beyond the aforementioned common factors. The need for clear-cut culturally adapted guidelines along with personalized advice from physicians is imperative as it could improve patients’ self-efficacy. These socio-psychological factors should be seriously considered as a means to increase the effectiveness of future community prevention programs.

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), described as the most prominent cause of chronic liver disease worldwide, has emerged as a significant public health issue, posing a considerable challenge for most countries. Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), commonly found in daily use items and foods, are able to interfere with nuclear receptors (NRs) and disturb hormonal signaling and mitochondrial function, leading, among other metabolic disorders, to MASLD. EDCs have also been proposed to cause transgenerationally inherited alterations leading to increased disease susceptibility. In this review, we are focusing on the most prominent linking pathways between EDCs and MASLD, their role in the induction of epigenetic transgenerational inheritance of the disease as well as up-to-date practices aimed at reducing their impact.

Nutrition therapy aims to prevent weight loss and its health consequences in patients with cancer. The aim of this study was to assess Greek patients’ adherence to the ESPEN guidelines for oncology patients and its prospective effect on their body weight (BW) and nutritional status. In total, 152 patients with cancer were recruited from the Attikon University Hospital, Greece, and provided data in 2019 (baseline) and 2020 (follow-up) (drop-out rate = 28.3%). Nutritional status was assessed with the PG-SGA questionnaire. Patients were categorized based on whether they adhered at least to the minimum ESPEN-recommended intakes of energy (≥25 kcal/kg/day) or protein (≥1.0 g/kg/day) or not. On average, patients did not adhere to ESPEN guidelines for energy and protein intake. Most patients meeting the minimum recommendations had an improvement of their nutritional status at follow-up and increased their BW compared to those not meeting them. All patients with head, neck, and spinal cancer who met the minimum recommendations for energy intake improved their nutritional status at follow-up. This study showed that consuming at least the minimum amounts of protein and energy recommended by ESPEN may prevent from weight loss and improve nutritional status; however, the exact amounts need to be personalized.

The present study sought to retrospectively investigate the dietary habits of two adolescent, European populations from the cross-sectional Greek TEENAGE Study and French STANISLAS Family Study. We aimed to explore the relation between the populations’ dietary patterns and blood pressure, glycemic and lipidemic profile. Dietary patterns were extracted via Principal Component Analysis (PCA), based on data collected from two 24 h dietary recalls for the TEENAGE study and a 3-day food consumption diary for the STANISLAS study. Multiple linear regressions and mixed models analyses, adjusting for confounding factors, were employed to investigate potential associations. A total of 766 Greek teenagers and 287 French teenagers, were included in analyses. Five dietary patterns were extracted for each population accounting for 49.35% and 46.69% of their respective total variance, with similarities regarding the consumption of specific food groups (i.e., western-type foods). In the TEENAGE Study, the “chicken and sugars” pattern was associated with lower CRP levels, after adjusting for confounding factors (p-value < 0.01). The “high protein and animal fat” dietary pattern of the STANISLAS Family Study was related to higher BMI (p-value < 0.01) and higher triglycerides levels (p-value < 0.01). Our findings summarize the dietary habits of two teenage, European populations and their associations with cardiometabolic risk factors.