For 22 months, the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of Vasyl Stefanyk Precarpathian National University has been implementing the cross-border project “Personalized prevention tools in obesity and diabetes – a joint Romanian-Ukrainian programme of health education (PrePOD)”. Scientists from Ukraine and Romania, including members of the Department of Biochemistry and Biotechnology of PNU, worked on the project. The project was mainly educational. Through the media, brochures/leaflets and personal consultations, the project researchers conducted a series of public awareness campaigns on the risks of obesity, diabetes and a healthy diet that helps reduce the risk of developing non-communicable diseases among the population.
Using the Health on Wheels mobile clinic, researchers were able to screen 400 adults and 252 children aged 6-17 in five settlements in Ivano-Frankivsk Region in the first wave of the project. People at risk of developing the above-mentioned diseases were referred to family doctors (who also actively cooperated with the project).
Initially, the publication was not planned, but the results of the surveys were so interesting that the researchers decided to share them with the international scientific community. The study showed that 23% of adults in Ivano-Frankivsk region are overweight and about 15% are obese. Among children, about 10% are overweight and about 9% are obese. Among the adults surveyed, 13% had undiagnosed pre-diabetes and 1% had undiagnosed diabetes.
This was the first article published in which people were the subject of research. And it was published in the top-ranked journal EXCLI, with an impact factor of 4.022. EXCLI Journal (eISSN 1611-2156) is a platinum open access journal.
Congratulations, Professor Volodymyr Lushchak, Professor Halyna Semchyshyn, Associate Professor Oleksandra Abrat (as well as project collaborators Associate Professor Tetiana Mykytyn and Doctor Ivan Tverdokhlib) for such a high level publication!