Publications by authors named "Alina D Popa"

: LL-37 is associated with metabolic syndrome (MetS), a constellation of risk factors comprising obesity, insulin resistance (IR), dyslipidemia, and hypertension, which elevates the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. : In this narrative review, we analyzed the literature focusing on recent developments in the relationship between cathelicidin and various components of MetS to provide a comprehensive overview. : Studies have shown that LL-37 is linked to inflammation in adipose tissue (AT) and the development of IR in obesity.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how nutritional knowledge, attitudes, and practices affect diet quality in women of reproductive age, highlighting the role of socioeconomic factors and information sources.
  • Data was collected from 465 women through an anonymous online questionnaire, assessing their diet quality using the FIGO diet quality score, while also examining the influence of healthcare advice and personal knowledge.
  • Results showed that better food choices, higher knowledge levels, and healthcare advice all significantly improved diet quality, with knowledge acting as a key mediator for the effectiveness of healthcare guidance.
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Background This study aimed to establish the reliability and validity of the Anti-Fat Attitudes (AFA) questionnaire and the Beliefs About Obese Persons (BAOP) scale. Methodology A convenience sample of 257 students from three distinct sections of the University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Grigore T. Popa" Iasi (Medical Faculty, Nutrition and Dietetics, and Nursing) participated in an observational study.

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Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) has become a global epidemic. To effectively control T2DM, individuals must adhere to a high-quality diet that encompasses not only healthy dietary patterns but also promotes positive eating behaviors. We conducted a cross-sectional study on 314 patients with T2DM, and we evaluated the diet quality and also examined the associations between eating behavior, diet quality, and anthropometric and clinical factors in T2DM patients.

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Healthy dietary patterns during pregnancy are crucial for ensuring maternal and foetal health outcomes. Numerous methodologies exist for assessing the diet of pregnant women, including dietary patterns and various appraisal tools of diet quality. This study aimed to assess the dietary patterns and diet quality of pregnant women and to investigate the relationship between dietary patterns, diet quality estimators, and the adequacy of nutrient intake.

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Introduction: Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is a disease commonly diagnosed in the elderly, often in advanced stages. However, elderly patients with lung cancer can benefit from surgery, provided that postoperative risks are assessed appropriately before surgery. Frailty is a measure of age-related impaired functional status and a predictor of mortality and morbidity.

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Diet and eating behavior both play a crucial role in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). The main objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between dietary intake and eating behavior in a population of patients with T2DM. A cross-sectional study was performed using 416 patients with T2DM and their dietary intake and eating behavior were assessed with validated questionnaires.

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The significance of dietary patterns during pregnancy is highlighted by accumulating evidence, emphasizing their pivotal role in promoting a healthy pregnancy for both the mother and the child. This study aimed to assess the current dietary patterns of pregnant women, compare the energy and nutrient intake of two distinct groups with a 10-year interval, and identify changes in dietary patterns. EPIC FFQ was applied, and its data were interpreted with the FETA program version 6 (CAMB/PQ/6/1205).

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Obesity affects more than one billion people worldwide and often leads to cardiometabolic chronic comorbidities. It induces senescence-related alterations in adipose tissue, and senescence is closely linked to obesity. Fully elucidating the pathways through which vitamin D exerts anti-inflammatory effects may improve our understanding of local adipose tissue inflammation and the pathogenesis of metabolic disorders.

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Our paper proposes the first machine learning model to predict long-term mortality in patients with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs). The study includes 635 patients with DFUs admitted from January 2007 to December 2017, with a follow-up period extending until December 2020. Two multilayer perceptron (MLP) classifiers were developed.

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(1) Background: This study examines the survival of patients after their first presentation with diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) to the regional Diabetes, Nutrition, and Metabolic Diseases Clinic within the Emergency Clinical Hospital "Sf. Spiridon", Iaşi, and analyzes the factors associated with this outcome. (2) Methods: In this retrospective study, patients with DFUs consecutively referred between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2017 were followed up until 31 December 2020 (for 13 years).

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Intermittent fasting (IF) has been promoted as an alternative to dietary caloric restriction for the treatment of obesity. IF restricts the amount of food consumed and improves the metabolic balance by synchronizing it with the circadian rhythm. Dietary changes have a rapid effect on the gut microbiota, modulating the interaction between meal timing and host circadian rhythms.

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Melanoma is a common and aggressive tumor originating from melanocytes. The increasing incidence of cutaneous melanoma in recent last decades highlights the need for predictive biomarkers studies. Melanoma development is a complex process, involving the interplay of genetic, epigenetic, and environmental factors.

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Article Synopsis
  • The World Health Organization has raised concerns about a potential sixth wave of COVID-19, prompting a study in Romania to create a validated questionnaire assessing public knowledge and attitudes about COVID-19 protective measures.* -
  • The study, involving 194 participants, developed an initial 40-item questionnaire, which was refined to 16 items after analyzing psychometric properties and identifying three main factors: compliance with protective measures, attitudes towards vaccination, and beliefs about COVID-19 treatments.* -
  • The finalized questionnaire successfully predicted vaccination status with 77.3% accuracy and highlighted significant predictors of vaccination, suggesting its use in identifying areas in need of targeted health interventions to combat the pandemic.*
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Herd immunity is necessary to control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, a low proportion of vaccinated people and low levels of vaccine acceptance have been noted in Eastern Europe. Our paper aimed to review the central attitudes associated with the hesitancy toward COVID-19 vaccination specific to Eastern European countries.

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(1) Background: Obesity, part of the triple global burden of disease, is increasingly attracting research on its preventive and curative management. Knowledge of eating behavior can be useful both at the individual level (to individualize treatment for obesity) and the population level (to implement more suitable food policies). The Dutch Eating Behavior Questionnaire (DEBQ) is a widely used international tool to assess eating behavior, i.

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Gorham-Stout disease is a rare disorder, which may result in a poor prognosis. This disease, a rare lymphangiomatosis, is defined by progressive bone disappearance due to massive unicentric and multicentric osteolysis. Osteolytic lesions of the spine and pleura effusion are poor prognostic factors.

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We conducted a narrative review on the interaction between dietary patterns with demographic and lifestyle variables in relation to health status assessment. The food pattern has the advantage of taking into account the correlations that may exist between foods or groups of foods, but also between nutrients. It is an alternative and complementary approach in analysing the relationship between nutrition and the risk of chronic diseases.

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Aim: To estimate specific nutrient intake in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Materials And Methods: The study was conducted on a group of subjects with type 2 diabetes. The collected data included: anthropometry, lifestyle, blood measurements, and the mean daily nutrient intake assessed by the EPIC food frequency questionnaire.

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Introduction: Prenatal care is considered an important tool for promoting a healthy lifestyle, but has not been studied as a predictor for maternal weight gain during pregnancy, especially in Romania, where evidence about pregnancy and nutrition is scarce.

Objective: This study has aimed to explore the relationship between pre-gestational body mass index (BMI), adequacy of prenatal care and weight gain during pregnancy.

Methods: We carried a cross-sectional study on a sample of 400 pregnant women admitted at the "Cuza Voda" Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital in Iasi.

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Aim Of The Study: to evaluate the relation between ejection fraction (EF), diabetes characteristics and cardiovascular risk factors.

Material And Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional study in 171 patients with insulin-treated type 2 diabetes hospitalized at the Sf. Spiridon Emergency Clinical Hospital, Iasi.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to investigate how maternal characteristics, such as body mass index (BMI) and prenatal care, affect weight gain during pregnancy.
  • - Researchers analyzed data from 400 pregnant women at a hospital, looking at demographics, prenatal visits, and dietary changes, finding that weight gain was significantly linked to pregestational BMI and other factors like age and the adequacy of prenatal care.
  • - The findings suggest that both overweight and underweight women need careful dietary counseling to manage weight gain during pregnancy, highlighting the importance of monitoring dietary changes.
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Background: Pregnancy is a critical period for both woman and baby from a nutritional perspective. Nutritional education is considered an important tool for promoting a healthy lifestyle, but has not been studied as a determinant for maternal use of supplements during pregnancy, especially in Romania, where evidence about pregnancy and nutrition is scarce. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between nutritional knowledge and the use of folic acid, iron and multivitamin supplements during pregnancy and to assess the influence of socio-demographic factors and prenatal care.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study assessed socio-demographic and lifestyle factors among 254 participants to determine their association with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) risk, finding that age, occupation, and physical activity play significant roles.
  • - High risk for OSAS was notably higher in older adults (especially retirees) and women, with 29.4% of men and 36.8% of women classified as high risk; factors like smoking and alcohol consumption did not show significant impacts.
  • - Interestingly, participants with a low risk for OSAS tended to engage in more physical activity at work and performed significantly more vigorous exercise, suggesting a link between physical fitness and lower OSAS risk.
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Aim: To study the relationships between prepregancy body index mass (BMI), women's gestational weight gain and nutritional education during pregnancy.

Material And Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study on 400 women hospitalized during pregnancy. Initial data included records on age, nutritional education during pregnancy and prepregnancy body mass index (BMI).

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