Diabetology, Volume 5, Issue 3 (September 2024) – 5 articles

Lifestyle behaviors and their potential effects on diabetes are being investigated for optimal diabetes management. In patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), the necessary dietary modifications extend to psychological components for consideration. This study aimed to determine the eating behavior of T2DM patients with different sociodemographic characteristics in an urban Turkish population. The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) was distributed via social media and a smartphone application to 108 T2DM patients, 58 males and 50 females, age 26–40 years (20 individuals, 18.6%) and over 40 years (88 individuals, 81.4 %). Basic component factor analysis varimax rotation was used for the item-total correlation coefficient. The 26–40 years age group exhibited high correlation for both restrained and emotional eating behavior (r > 0.8), while participants over 40 years displayed medium correlation for restrained eating and high correlation for emotional eating (r = 0.6–0.8). Compared to married and single participants, participants with “other” marital status showed significant correlation with all eating behavior categories (r > 0.8). Married participants were less correlated with all categories compared to single participants. Participants with lower education levels exhibited high correlation (r > 0.8) for all forms of eating, more so compared to those with higher levels of education attained. Overweight patients demonstrated moderately high (r = 0.4–0.6) restrictive eating correlation, while normal weight and obese patients exhibited higher correlation (r = 0.6–0.8) for emotional and restrained eating compared to overweight patients. Regardless of demographic factors, when all participants were combined, the strongest correlation was found to be with emotional eating compared to other types of eating. Full article

A correct injection technique is essential in order to ensure the effectiveness of insulin and to achieve good metabolic control, and the use of suitable needles is fundamental. Today, technological evolution has transformed insulin needles into innovative tools able to guarantee an effective and safe administration of insulin, to reduce local complications, such as lipodystrophies that are an obstacle to the effectiveness of the treatment itself, and to minimize the pain of the injection, a crucial factor in the acceptance of therapy and for compliance. The steering committee of the scientific society SIMDO has commissioned the scientific committee and some members of the board to draw up an official SIMDO point of view/consensus on the use of insulin needles. In this way, a group that has combined the experience gained in their field of expertise—diabetologists operating in the public and private sectors, nurses, psychologists, and patients—was set up. The aim is to give indications regarding insulin injection techniques, combining themes such as technology innovation, education in self-management, and psychological support for the patient into a unified approach based on the priority area of patient quality of life. The document will provide operational recommendations that integrate the directions regarding the standards of care for diabetes resulting from the most recent scientific acquisitions with the concept of quality at 360°, as it emerged from the point of view of all the operators involved, but with the patient’s interests as a central focal point. Full article

The magnification of Western eating habits has contributed to a large increase in the development of several diseases and conditions, namely cardiovascular disease, obesity, dyslipidemia, and hyperglycemia. These are part of a cluster of metabolic factors involved in metabolic syndrome. However, there are new dietary patterns more focused on the consumption of plant-based foods. Thus, the aim of this review was to investigate the impact of plant-based diets on metabolic syndrome and to achieve the inflammatory mediators and the antioxidant effects involved in this potential health benefits effect. Advanced research was performed for articles published in the last 10 years, which were analyzed and selected according to the defined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Of the articles analyzed, the majority supported the positive impact of plant-based diets on metabolic syndrome. Furthermore, several studies also showed that these diets appear to have an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant role. Thus, plant-based diets appear to have health benefits, contributing to the prevention of metabolic syndrome, and improving the cardiovascular and metabolic markers’ profile, mainly when including healthy foods. The total exclusion of animal source foods (especially meat and fish) from the diet, as well as the consumption of processed and additive plant-based foods, may contribute to an increased prevalence of metabolic syndrome. Full article

The primary aim of this study was to assess the size and shape of the Foveal Avascular Zone (FAZ) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus compared to healthy subjects. The study used 80 OCTA images from the FAZID dataset. The FAZ size was measured by its area, perimeter, and maximum/minimum Feret diameters. The shape was assessed using the axial ratio, circularity, roundness, and solidity. These metrics were calculated automatically using Matlab^® R2020b. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS statistical software version 28.0, with a p-value of less than 0.01 considered significant. The results showed that the FAZ area was significantly larger in diabetic eyes (mean = 0.50 mm²) compared to control eyes (mean = 0.37 mm²), with a p-value of less than 0.01. Both the maximum and minimum diameters of the FAZ were also significantly larger in diabetic groups compared to the control group. Parameters associated with FAZ’s shape were significantly smaller in the diabetic groups than in the control group, except for the axial ratio. The main finding of this study is that diabetic eyes without clinically detectable diabetic retinopathy exhibit morphological changes and irregularities at the FAZ border. Full article

The prevalence of obesity in adults with type 1 diabetes is increasing and reflects the rates of the general adult population. The coexistence of overweight or obesity and type 1 diabetes poses a major challenge to effective glycemic and weight management. In addition, individuals living with T1D and overweight or obesity are at greater cardiometabolic risk and are more prone to develop chronic complications in comparison to normal weight individuals with type 1 diabetes. Although obesity represents a growing challenge in the type 1 diabetes population, awareness of this issue is still low. This review provides a summary of current data on prevalence trends, causes, current strategies, and challenges in managing obesity in adults with type 1 diabetes. Full article