Background: Dementia and cognitive dysfunction have many causes. There is strong evidence that diabetes mellitus (DM) increases the risk of cognitive impairment and dementia. Optimal glycemic control, identification of diabetic risk factors, and prophylactic approach are essential in the prevention of cognitive complications. Aims: The main purpose of this study was to establish the cognitive impairment in DM patients, cared for in the Diabetes Center from Timisoara. Also, we investigated the prevalence of dementia in our group as well as the risk factors involved in the progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to dementia. Patients and methods: We considered a sample of 207 type 2 DM (T2DM) patients, aged between 33 and 81 years, mean 57.49 (±11.37) years. We established the diagnosis of dementia based on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) test, as well as on the psychological testing, psychiatric and neurological investigations, and imaging tests (computerized tomography and MRI). Results: A percentage of 42.03% of patients presented MCI, mean age 63 (57.00–71.00) years, being older than patients without MCI, mean age 52.00 (45.00–61.00) years, P<0.001. We observed that diabetes duration was a significant risk factor for developing dementia. Also, patients with MCI presented higher values of body fat than patients without MCI. Moreover, we found that glucose levels, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels, the presence of stroke events, and the presence of cardiovascular disease were significant risk factors for MCI conversion to dementia. Conclusion: Patients with T2DM at early to severe stages of MCI are more likely to develop dementia and should be regularly evaluated for their cognitive status. Regular administrations of the MMSE test can be done to detect early stages of MCI development. Also, to reduce the progression of cognitive impairment to dementia, it is worthwhile to give greater importance to glycemic control and overall DM management.

Background and Objectives: The prevalence of cachexia has increased across all of the cancer types and accounts for up to 20% of cancer-related deaths. This paper is a systematic review of nutritional interventions aiming to improve cachexia outcomes in cancer, focusing on weight gain. Materials and Methods: A search in Medline and Elsevier databases for articles up until the 23 January 2022, was conducted. Results: Out of 5732 screened records, 26 publications were included in the final analysis. Four randomized clinical trials showed a significant body weight (BW) increase in patients treated with eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), β-hydroxy-beta-methyl butyrate (β-HMB), arginine, and glutamine or marine phospholipids (MPL). An upward BW trend was observed in patients treated with L-carnitine, an Ethanwell/Ethanzyme (EE) regimen enriched with ω-3 fatty acids, micronutrients, probiotics, fish oil, a leucine-rich supplement, or total parental nutrition (TPN) with a high dose of a branched-chain amino acid (BCAA). Conclusions: Although clinical trials relating to large numbers of nutritional supplements present promising data, many trials provided negative results. Further studies investigating the underlying mechanisms of action of these nutritional supplements in cancer cachexia are needed. Early screening for cancer cachexia risk and nutritional intervention in cancer patients before aggravating weight loss may stabilize their weight, preventing cachexia syndrome. According to the GRADE methodology, no positive recommendation for these nutritional supplements may be expressed.

Hypertriglyceridemia, an important and independent risk factor for acute pancreatitis in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus Oana Albai,1 Deiana Roman,2 Mirela Frandes2 1Second Department of Internal Medicine, 2Department of Functional Sciences, “Victor Babes” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Timisoara, Romania Purpose: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a frequent inflammatory disease of the pancreas with multiple causes, among which high triglyceride (TG) level is the most common. The main purpose of this study has been to research the prevalence of AP in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) and to underline the importance of hypertriglyceridemia (HTG) as a risk factor in triggering AP. The possible link between AP and glycemic control has been studied also, alongside some cardiovascular risk factors and long-term diabetes complications.Patients and methods: The patient cohort comprised 1,586 patients with DM, admitted to the Internal Medicine Clinic of Diabetes, Nutrition and Metabolic Disease within the Emergency Hospital in Timisoara between January and August 2016. Following a series of clinical and biological investigations, these patients were diagnosed with AP. The patients’ antidiabetic treatment and chronic diabetes-related complications have also been recorded.Results: The prevalence of pancreatitis in this group of patients was 3.7%. The presence of pancreatitis was associated with a higher HbA1c (8.5% vs 7.7%; P<0.001), fasting glycemia (167.5 vs 95 mg/dL; P<0.001), postprandial glycemia (244.5 vs 118 mg/dL; P<0.001), total cholesterol (256.5 vs 189.5 mg/dL; P<0.001), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDLc) (208.7 vs 112.8 mg/dL; P<0.001), and TGs (495 vs 161 mg/dL; P<0.001). HDL cholesterol (HDLc) was found to be a significant protective factor against the risk of pancreatitis. On the contrary, high LDLc values were a significant risk factor for pancreatitis along with high non-HDLc and high TG values, respectively.Conclusion: The development of AP events in patients with DM is associated with unsatisfactory glycemic control, HTG, hypertension, and the presence and severity of DM chronic complications. In this study, the prevalence of AP events in patients with DM was 3.7%. Keywords: diabetes mellitus, hypertriglyceridemia, acute pancreatitis, insulin resistance

Purpose: To evaluate the impact of several factors on the patient’s perception on quality of life in a group of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Patients and methods: In this cross-sectional study, 198 patients with T2DM were enrolled according to a consecutive-case population-based study design. In all participants, the perception on the quality of life was measured using the quality of life index – diabetes version III proposed by Ferrans and Powers. We evaluated the impact of several anthropometric and diabetes-related (ie, diabetes history and quality of glycemic control) factors on the patient’s perception on the quality of life. Results: The presence of diabetes complications was associated with a decreased quality of life: retinopathy (1 vs 5 points; P<0.001), chronic kidney disease (-1 vs 5 points; P<0.001), and neuropathy (-1 vs 5 points; P<0.001). A significant reverse correlation was found between the patient’s quality of life and depression’s severity (Spearman’s r=-0.345; P<0.001) and body mass index (Spearman’s r=-0.158; P=0.026). A positive association between the quality of life and the quality of diabetes-related self-care activities was found (Spearman’s r=0.338; P<0.001). No significant association was found between the patient’s quality of life and the quality of glycemic control, diabetes duration, age, gender, or smoking status. Conclusion: To improve the patient’s quality of life, special care should be given to the modifiable diabetes-related factors: the prevention and treatment of diabetes complications, treatment of depression, and weight loss in obese and overweight patients.

In the overall management of the most chronic diseases, including diabetes mellitus (DM), adherence to recommended disease-related self-care activities is of paramount importance. The diagnosis and presence of a chronic disease may be considered a difficult and stressful situation in life, a situation in which coping mechanisms are psychological processes developed at a conscious level to manage these situations. This study aimed to explore the possible relationship between the dominance of one of the four major coping styles and adherence to diabetes-related self-care activities (DRSCAs) in the population of patients with type 2 DM (T2DM). In a cross-sectional consecutive-case population-based study design, 126 patients previously diagnosed with T2DM were enrolled. Coping mechanisms were evaluated using the Cope scale inventory, which identifies the dominant coping mechanism: problem-, emotion-, social support-, or avoidance-focused. The quality of DRSCA was evaluated using the summary of diabetes self-care activities questionnaire, in which a higher score was associated with improved adherence. In the study cohort, 45 patients (35.7%) had problem-focused coping, 37 (29.4%) had emotion-focused coping, 32 (25.4%) social support-focused coping, and 12 (9.5%) had avoidance-focused coping. Patients with emotion-focused coping had the highest level (P=0.02) of DRSCA (median 44 points), followed by patients with social support-focused coping (median 40 points) and problem-focused coping (median 36 points), while patients with avoidance-focused coping had the lowest SDSCA total score (33 points). The type of dominant coping mechanism has a significant impact on the quality of the DRSCA measures implemented by the patient to manage their diabetes. Patients with emotion-focused and social support-focused coping styles tend to have significantly increased adherence to DRSCA scores, while patients with other dominant coping styles are less interested in managing their disease.

Purpose: To validate and to evaluate the performance in depression screening of the Patient’s Health Questionnaire – 9 (PHQ-9) for Romanian patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Patients and methods: In a consecutive-case, population-based, non-interventional study design 107 hospitalized patients with T2DM were enrolled. The PHQ-9 was evaluated in regard to its acceptability, ceiling and floor effect, reproducibility, and test–retest performance. Its validity was tested by comparing it to the Beck depression scale, which is a validated tool for this patient population. Results: The PHQ-9 questionnaire had an excellent acceptability, having no non-responders for any of its questions and a median completion time of 3 mins and 12 s, a good reliability with a Cronbach’s α=0.897 [0.865–0.924] 95%CI, a good test–retest performance (Spearman’s rho =0.972; p<0.001 between two administrations of the test) without any ceiling or floor effect observed for the total score. At the same time, the score demonstrated a good validity when compared to a more complex and previously validated instrument like the Beck depression scale (Spearman’s rho =0.777; p<0.001). The limits of agreement (Bland-Altmann analysis) between the two measurements are 2.6 to −2.5 points. Conclusion: The PHQ-9 is a valid, useful instrument for depression screening in Romanian patients with T2DM.