Cause and effect relationship of malnutrition with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis: prospective case-control study.
OBJECTIVE
Patients with chronic pancreatitis are often malnourished. The role of malnutrition in the pathogenesis of chronic pancreatitis is unclear. The aim of the present article was to study prospectively the cause and effect relationship of malnutrition with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis in a case-control study.


METHODS
Consecutive patients with chronic pancreatitis underwent anthropometry, nutritional and dietary assessments. For dietary assessment, food frequency questionnaire and 24-hour dietary recall methods were used. Primary outcome measure was cause and effect relationship of malnutrition with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis.


RESULTS
Of 201 patients with chronic pancreatitis, 120 had idiopathic chronic pancreatitis (mean age 29.60 years, 74 males) who formed the study group. None of the patients consumed cassava. The nutritional status and dietary intake of the patients before the onset of chronic pancreatitis were comparable with those of controls with 20.6% of patients and 22.5% of controls being malnourished (body mass index [BMI] < 18.5). After the onset of chronic pancreatitis, 56.5% of patients lost weight and significantly more patients became malnourished compared with controls (45.8% vs 22.5%; P < 0.001). The causes of weight loss were diabetes, higher calories from proteins, and pseudocyst.


CONCLUSIONS
Malnutrition was not a cause of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis and weight loss occurred as an effect of chronic pancreatitis. Cassava was not found to be a cause of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis.
Department of Gastroenterology and Human Nutrition, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
Shallu
S
Midha
Namrata
N
Singh
Vikas
V
Sachdev
Rakesh Kumar
RK
Tandon
Yogendra Kumar
YK
Joshi
Pramod Kumar
PK
Garg
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D048909:Diabetes Complications / Q000209:etiology; D004435:Eating; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India; D008297:Male; D002365:Manihot / Q000009:adverse effects; D008875:Middle Aged; D009752:Nutritional Status; D010192:Pancreatic Pseudocyst / Q000150:complications; D050500:Pancreatitis, Chronic / Q000150:complications* / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D012307:Risk Factors; D015431:Weight Loss; D055815:Young Adult