ACTA ENDOCRINOLOGICA (BUC)

Aims. The aims of our study were to assess the prevalence of prostate tumors in patients with metabolic syndrome.\r\nMaterial and methods. Subjects were patients recruited from three medical centers in Bucharest, Romania. For this study we selected men over 45 years of age with metabolic syndrome. The anthropometric measurements included height, weight, waist circumference and hip circumference. We calculated the body mass index (BMI) and measured the\r\nblood pressure. Biochemical tests included fasting plasma glucose (FPG), HbA1c, total cholesterol (TC), TG, HDL-C, fasting plasma insulin (FPI), prostate-specific antigen (PSA)and free-PSA. The prostate gland volume was measured by transrectal ultrasound. The diagnosis of prostatic cancer was based on a positive finding of the histological\r\nexamination obtained from 14-core biopsy.\r\nResults. There was a high prevalence of prostate tumors (benign and malignant) - 82.85% (n=343). Prostate cancer was\r\ndiagnosed in 7.9% of patients (n=33) using DRE, PSA, free PSA/PSA ratio and TRUS. The prevalence of BHP was 74.9% (n=310). The results of the present study indicate that\r\nPSA detects a significant number of prostate tumors missed in DRE. The use of DRE, PSA and TRUS, in combination, provided the highest rate of detection of prostatic tumors in patients with metabolic syndrome without infectious diseases of the prostate.\r\nConclusions. The prevalence of prostatic tumors, prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia in metabolic syndrome patients is high. Due to its increased prevalence, the BPH can be considered as a feature of metabolic syndrome.

Context. The socio-economic and medical burden of obesity represents a continuous challenge for both developing and developed countries. For Romania, the available data on the eating patterns, behavior and other components of lifestyle are scarce. Objective. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the Romanian general population and to identify lifestyle patterns characteristic for the Romanian population in terms of eating patterns and physical activity. Design. Cross-sectional, epidemiologic, multicenter non-interventional study Subjects and Methods. Between January 2014 and August 2014 were enrolled 2128 adults by 8 investigators spread in the main historical regions of Romania. The following data: demographic, anthropometric, employment status, education, family history, personal medical history, information on the lifestyle and eating habits. Results. The final population included in the analysis presented here consisted of 2103 participants with no missing information on height and weight. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was 31.1% and 21.3%, respectively. The prevalence of obesity was 9.9% in the 18-39 years age group, 30.1% in the 40-59 years age group, 41.6% in the 60- 79 years age group and 24.1% in the ≥80 years age group (p <0.001). Irregular meals together with eating while watching TV were the most frequent unhealthy eating habits of the participants. Conclusions. We found a high prevalence of overweight and obesity among the participants enrolled. Our study has important implications for increasing the knowledge on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in Romania and associated lifestyle habits.

Context. Scarce data on dietary habits in Eastern European countries is available and reports investigated individual food items and not dietary patterns in these populations Objective. To identify dietary patterns and to explore their association with obesity in a sample from Romanian population. Design. Cross-sectional. Subjects and Methods. This was an analysis of data collected from 1398 adult participants in ORO study. Data on lifestyle, eating habits and food frequency consumption were collected. Results. By principal component analysis we identified 3 dietary patterns explaining 31.4% of the diet variation: High meat/High fat pattern, Western pattern and Prudent pattern. High meat/High fat pattern was associated with male gender, lower educational level, living in a rural, smoking and a higher probability for the presence of obesity (OR 1.2 [95%CI: 1.1-1.4]). Western pattern was associated with younger age, a higher level of physical activity and smoking. Prudent pattern was associated with older age, female gender, a higher level of physical activity, not smoking status and a lower probability for the presence of obesity (OR 0.8 [95%CI: 0.7-0.9]). Conclusions. This study provides for the first-time information on the association between dietary patterns in adults from an Eastern European country and the presence of obesity.

Introduction. The prevalence of obesity has reached alarming levels in the European Union, including in Romania. Data on the prevalence of obesity is only available at the national populational level, but this may hide the increased levels in disadvantaged groups. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of overweight and obesity in the Roma population in Southern Romania. Material and method. This cross-sectional, epidemiological, non-interventional study was conducted from March 2014 to May 2017 in several settlements from Calarasi County. Screening procedures included interviews about medical history, lifestyle, anthropometric and clinical measurements and fasting capillary glucose. Results. The study population consisted of 1120 adult subjects, of which 735 Roma. In Roma population group, the prevalence of underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity was 4.5% (n=33), 25% (n=184), 25.3% (n=186) and 45.2% (n=332) respectively. In Romanian Caucasians group, the prevalence of underweight, normal weight, overweight and obesity was 2.3% (n=9), 20% (n=77), 33.8% (n=130) and 43.9% (n=169) respectively. Among the Romanian Caucasians significant predictors of obesity were a sedentary lifestyle and current smoking. The odds of being obese in Roma population were higher in sedentary lifestyle persons and lower in current smokers, with primary education, and in those living in rural settlements. The family history of obesity had a significant association with obesity only in Roma population. Conclusions. Our results confirm the need to implement prevention programs in high-risk populations due to the double burden of malnutrition, lack of medical education and preventive healthcare, low socio-economic level.