Endocrinología, Diabetes y Nutrición: Year in Review 2021

Dear readers,

To build on a growing tradition, in this final issue of the year, we will briefly review the publications in our journal in 2021. In the last few months, the editorial board expanded by one member to manage the growing volume of incoming manuscripts (we expect to get more than 500 this year). This increase also requires significant contributions from those who review these articles, who deserve special thanks. We would also like to thank the authors for their valuable contributions, which make the journal better and better every year, and to ask that they not get discouraged should any of their studies not be accepted.

To start, in the field of management, there were reflections on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether it might represent an opportunity to improve our efforts (Escalada et al.) and prospects for training within our specialisation (Salvador et al.). The portfolio of services was updated (Santamaría et al.), the activities of outpatient clinics were analysed (Alfaro et al.) and the importance of recognising the role of reviewers in publications was highlighted (Lamas et al.).

Thyroid gland and parathyroid glands

In 2021, thyroid disease was in the spotlight. Notable among articles on thyroid disease were articles that addressed the growing interest in managing thyroid nodules with non-surgical local techniques. One article by Reverter et al. and another by Merchante et al. evaluated the efficacy of percutaneous alcohol injection. Fidilio et al. reported the results of a Spanish national multicentre study on the adverse effects on the thyroid gland of immunotherapy in cancer treatment. For their part, Iglesias et al. proposed the one-step nucleic acid amplification (OSNA) molecular technique for the evaluation of the sentinel node in thyroid cancer. Díaz-Soto et al. reported the clinical course of a series of patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma on a high-resolution unit, and Orois et al. provided an update on key aspects of familial differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Pustilnik et al. analysed the impact of age and weight on proper thyroxine dosing in patients with primary hypothyroidism. Finally, in paediatric thyroid disease, Maximiano et al. reported on the follow-up of newborn children of mothers with Graves’ disease, and Yeste et al. showed the correlation between ultrasound and cytology in a series of infant and juvenile patients with thyroid nodules.

In the field of parathyroid disease, Burillo et al. summarised the results of a Delphi survey on the management of patients with inadequately controlled chronic hypoparathyroidism. Carral et al. addressed the value of measuring parathyroid hormone (PTH) in patients with lesions raising suspicion of parathyroid adenoma. Finally, Díez et al. presented the results of a multicentre study on recovery of parathyroid function in patients with thyroid cancer having undergone total thyroidectomy.

General endocrinology

New developments in the management of Cushing’s syndrome (Abellan P.) and the relationship between diabetes and the homoeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in acromegaly (Biaggeti et al.) were addressed in editorials. Pituitary disease in pregnancy (Valassi et al.) and recommendations on diagnosing and preparing pathology reports in pituitary neuroendocrine tumours (Pico et al.) were reviewed. In addition, the need to establish particular cut-off points in gradients of petrosal sinus catheterisation with corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) stimulation was reported (Gonzalez et al.). The importance of response in the first year of growth hormone (GH) treatment in children with GH deficiency (Sanchez et al.) and small-for-gestational-age children (Campos-Martorell et al.) was defended.

Regarding the adrenal glands, a case series of adult men with classic congenital hyperplasia (San Martin et al.) is worthy of mention. Other topics were discussed as well, such as hormone testing in systemic infiltrative diseases (Muñoz et al.) and self-injurious behaviours in a transsexual population (Modrego et al.).

Diabetes

Regarding type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM), the prevalence of severe, inadvertent episodes of hypoglycaemia was reported in a cohort of patients with T1DM in Albacete (Pinés et al.), and long-term real-world results were presented for insulin pump therapy in adults, showing an improvement in blood glucose control and a reduction in episodes of severe hypoglycaemia (Moreno-Fernández et al.). The results of the registry of patients with T1DM in Cádiz (Carral et al.) were published, demonstrating that chronic poor control was associated with microvascular complications and noting an improvement in metabolic control in recent years. Dr Svensson’s editorial reviewed the state of registries globally and their importance in improving patient care. Results for the use of interstitial glucose measurement systems in children and adolescents were reported (Barbed et al.), as were the relationship between the new blood glucose measurement parameters and HbA1c (Díaz-Soto et al.) and the effectiveness of a specific structured programme in patient transition from paediatrics to an adult hospital (Vidal et al.). Finally, the SED1 study (Gómez-Peralta et al.) illustrated the situation of this disease in a Spanish nationwide sample and confirmed that education, care and treatment parameters in Spain are advancing towards comparability to other countries around Spain.

As for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), we learned its prevalence in the different Autonomous Communities of Spain (Menéndez et al.) according to the Base de Datos Clínicos de Atención Primaria [Primary Care Clinical Database], as well as the results of a specific model for coordination between primary and hospital care (Mateo-Gavira et al.), and we saw how remission of the disease was confirmed after malabsorptive bariatric surgery in a series from León (González Arnáiz et al.). Several documents of exceptional interest were published: a position paper on the evaluation and management of hypoglycaemia in patients with diabetes mellitus (Reyes-García et al.), a consensus document on efforts to improve the prevention and management of diabetic foot (Lázaro Martínez et al.) and an update on the dietary treatment of prediabetes and T2DM (Pascual Fuster et al.). Finally, important studies discussed education in diabetes, the development of the professional role of the diabetes nurse (Valverde et al.), the results of an educational programme for insulinisation in primary care (Cabré Font et al.) and the role of patients' experiences (Gómez-García et al.).

Vascular risk and dyslipidaemia

In the field of diabetes and its association with vascular risk, two important articles were published. In the first, Romero et al. delved into the interpretation of clinical trials on the cardiovascular effects of antidiabetic drugs in people with T2DM. In the second, a study from Argentina, Bluro et al. reported troponin levels in a cohort of patients with T2DM and demonstrated their predictive value as a risk marker for vascular events.

In the area of dyslipidaemia, an interesting editorial by Civeira F. and Pedro-Botet J. analysed rational use of PCSK9 inhibitors with cost-effectiveness criteria. Finally, Gutiérrez-Cortizo et al. presented the results of the DETECTA HF HUELVA programme, with population screening for familial hypercholesterolaemia through alerts from reference laboratories in the province of Huelva.

Obesity

Notable publications on the subject of obesity included a study in a Mexican adolescent population linking the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs2291166 of TJP1 and CAG repeats in ATXN2 as determinants of body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio and insulin resistance indices (the quantitative insulin-sensitivity check index [QUICKI] and HOMA-IR) (Aguilar et al.).

The topic of COVID-19 could hardly be overlooked. Rubio and Bretón delighted us with a review on the importance of obesity as a risk factor for contracting COVID-19 or any other infectious condition, and Bretón et al. offered a position statement from multiple scientific associations on obesity and COVID-19.

Ballesteros and the rest of the members of the obesity working group of the Sociedad Española de Endocrinología y Nutrición [Spanish Society of Endocrinology and Nutrition] (SEEN) (GOSEEN) published an executive summary of the comprehensive clinical approach to obesity in adulthood, which will surely be useful for readers of this journal.

Abellán et al. compared medium- and long-term outcomes of gastric bypass and vertical gastrectomy with respect to lipid panel results and found that while the former improves all parameters, the latter only improves levels of triglycerides and HDL cholesterol. Junquera et al. found improvements in quality of life and comorbidities of morbid obesity six years after bariatric surgery.

Nutrition

This year, the pandemic was also reflected in publications related to clinical nutrition. Morán-López et al. reported a prevalence of malnutrition higher than 60% in patients with COVID-19 and found the establishment of an early treatment protocol to be associated with a shorter hospital stay, less respiratory distress and a lower rate of complications. Our scientific letters also reported concomitant COVID-19 and GLUT1 deficiency syndrome (Arrieta et al.) as well as administration of lopinavir/ritonavir through an enteral nutrition tube (Sirvent Segovia et al.).

The data from the RECALSEEN study pointed to remarkable growth and consolidation among clinical nutrition units (Cancer-Minchot et al.). The interhospital registry of the Sociedad Castellano-Leonesa de Endocrinología, Diabetes y Nutrición [Castile-León Society of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Nutrition] offered insights into the nutritional status of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (López-Gómez et al.). Rondanelli et al. proposed a food pyramid for inflammatory bowel disease, and Carrillo Lozano et al. reviewed nutritional management in patients with gastric cancer. An editorial by Olveira Fuster et al. discussed the role of endocrinology and nutrition specialists in the care of cystic fibrosis. Ballesteros et al. reported data from a real-world study of the effectiveness of a high-protein hypercaloric formula in maintaining and improving nutritional status in patients with an indication for long-term enteral nutrition.

Finally, sarcopenia also figured in our journal, in a systematic review on exercise in elderly people with sarcopenia (Barajas Galindo et al.), a study on sarcopenic dysphagia (Moncayo-Hernández et al.) and a study on muscle density in patients with prostate cancer and its protective effects for survival. (Muñoz-Rodríguez et al.).

Happy holidays and we’ll see you in January 2022.