CIGARETTE-SMOKING - AN INDEPENDENT RISK FACTOR IN ALCOHOLIC PANCREATITIS

It is not known whether cigarette smoking plays a role as a risk facto r in alcoholic pancreatitis. The aim of this study was to compare drin king and smoking habits in three groups of male subjects with an alcoh ol intake in excess of 40 g/day: (i) 67 patients with acute alcoholic pancreatitis, without other known potential causative agents; (ii) 396 patients with chronic alcoholic pancreatitis; and (iii) 265 control s ubjects randomly selected from the Verona polling lists and submitted to a complete medical checkup. The variables considered were age at on set of disease, years of drinking and smoking, daily alcohol intake in grams, number of cigarettes smoked daily, and body mass index (BMI). Cases differed from controls in daily grams of alcohol, number of ciga rettes smoked and BMI (Mann-Whitney U test, p < 0.00001 for each compa rison). Multivariate logistic regression analysis, comparing acute and chronic cases, respectively, versus controls, revealed an increased r elative risk of pancreatitis in the two comparisons, associated in bot h cases with a higher alcohol intake (p < 0.00001) and cigarette smoki ng (p < 0.00001). No significant interaction between alcohol and smoki ng was noted, indicating that the two risks are independent. In conclu sion, in males a higher number of cigarettes smoked daily seems to be a distinct risk factor in acute and chronic alcoholic pancreatitis.