Acta clinica Croatica, Vol. 64. No. 1, 2025.
Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.20471/acc.2025.64.01.02
Prevalence of 25-Hydroxycholecalciferol Deficiency and Metabolic Syndrome in Croatian Women with Newly Diagnosed Breast Cancer
Katarina Vučić
orcid.org/0000-0002-9753-6623
; Department of Safety and Efficacy Assessment of Medicinal products, Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices, Zagreb, Croatia
*
Ljiljana Mayer
; Clinical Unit of Medical Chemistry in Oncology, University Hospital for Tumors, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center, Zagreb, Croatia
Ljilja Štefančić
; Department of Anesthesiology, Resuscitation and Intensive Care, University Hospital for Tumors, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center, Zagreb, Croatia
Siniša Tomić
; Directorate, Agency for Medicinal Products and Medical Devices, Zagreb, Croatia
Iva Kirac
; Department of Surgical Oncology, University Hospital for Tumors, Sestre milosrdnice University Hospital Center, Zagreb, Croatia
Mario Šekerija
; Croatian National Cancer Registry, Department of Malignant Diseases, Croatian Institute of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia; Andrija Štampar School of Public Health, University of Zagreb School of Medicine, Zagreb, Croatia
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency
(VDD) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) including individual MetS components in Croatian women
with newly diagnosed breast cancer (BC), exploring differences according to menopausal status. This
cross-sectional, observational study recruited 203 adult female patients with newly diagnosed BC of any
stage from all Croatian regions (median age 59, range 28-87 years), hospitalized consecutively for their
first treatment between December 2016 and August 2017. We analyzed pretreatment fasting serum
concentrations of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)D), high density lipoprotein, low density lipoprotein,
triglycerides, plasma glucose, and measured systolic and diastolic blood pressure, weight and waist
circumference; defining VDD as 25(OH)D concentrations <50 nmol/L and MetS according to the
2006 International Diabetes Federation consensus. Consistency of the results was explored according
to sampling periods, regions and size of settlements. In total sample, 28.6% of patients presented with
concomitant VDD+MetS, whilst VDD was found in 55.1% of women (the finding was consistent by
menopausal status), and 48.3% had MetS (65.4% of postmenopausal vs. 15.7% of premenopausal women).
Concomitant VDD+MetS was more frequent in the inland region (p=0.043), and VDD in inland postmenopausal women (p=0.024), whereas in premenopausal women VDD was more frequent during
winter period (p=0.038). In conclusion, a high prevalence of VDD and MetS was found in newly diagnosed
BC patients, with some regional and seasonal differences.
Keywords
Breast cancer; Vitamin D, 25-hydroxycholecalciferol; Deficiency; Metabolic syndrome; Croatia
Hrčak ID:
335446
URI
Publication date:
31.3.2025.
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