Spirits and gastrectomy increase risk for chronic pancreatitis in Japanese male alcoholics.
BACKGROUND
Most cases of chronic pancreatitis are alcohol-related, but not all alcoholics develop pancreatitis.


OBJECTIVE
To elucidate historical and biologic risk factors for this disease.


METHODS
Alcoholic Japanese men (n = 132) consecutively admitted to the National Alcoholism Center over 24 months, including 54 with chronic pancreatitis (diagnosed by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) and 78 without, were surveyed about drinking history, smoking, education, and marital status, and tested for amylase, glycosylated hemoglobin, body mass, alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase genotypes, and K-ras gene mutations in pancreatic juice.


RESULTS
Higher risk for chronic pancreatitis was associated with drinking spirits rather than lower-alcohol beverages (odds ratio [OR], 2.58; p= 0.01). Daily ethanol consumption by those who drank spirits was greater than that among those who drank lower-alcohol beverages; however, no differences in either daily ethanol consumption or duration of drinking were observed between alcoholics with and without chronic pancreatitis. Postgastrectomy patients were at higher risk for chronic pancreatitis than unoperated comparison subjects (OR, 4.35, P< 0.05). Elevated glycosylated hemoglobin (OR, 4.62, p< 0.01), decreased amylase (OR 4.20, P<0.02), and low body mass (OR 1.89, P<0.1) were more frequent in alcoholics with chronic pancreatitis. K- gene mutations existed in 18.8% of alcoholics with chronic pancreatitis but in only 11.4% of those without the disorder. The frequencies of alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase genotypes in alcoholics with and without pancreatitis did not differ significantly.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study strongly suggested that spirits and partial gastrectomy increase the risk for chronic pancreatitis in male alcoholics.
Nakamura
Yuji
Y
Institute of Clinical Research, National Alcoholism Center, Kurihama Hospital, Yokosuka-shi, Kanagawa, Japan. yuji-nakamura@mtg.biglobe.ne.jp
Ishikawa
Akiko
A
Sekiguchi
Shintaro
S
Kuroda
Mari
M
Imazeki
Hiromi
H
Higuchi
Susumu
S
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000150:complications*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005743:Gastrectomy / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000209:etiology*; D012307:Risk Factors