Associations of alcohol drinking and nutrient intake with chronic pancreatitis: findings from a case-control study in Japan

The aim of this study was to examine the association of alcohol drinking and nutrient intake with chronic pancreatitis in a hospital-based case-control study.From July, 1997, to December, 1998, 91 male patients, who were newly diagnosed as having chronic pancreatitis, were recruited as cases, and 175 controls were individually matched to each case for gender, age (+/-5 yr), hospital, and time of the first visit to a hospital (+/-1 yr). Information on demographic characteristics, smoking and drinking, and dietary habits were collected by a self-administered questionnaire. The strength of associations was examined by odds ratios (ORs) and 95% CIs calculated from conditional logistic regression models.Our study showed that the more the daily amount of alcohol drinking, the larger the OR. Men who consumed > or =100 g ethanol/day were at an approximately 11-fold increased risk as compared with nondrinkers. Long-term alcohol consumption (>35 yr) was associated with the increased risk (OR = 4.0). Risk of chronic pancreatitis remarkably increased with increasing cumulative alcohol consumption (trend p = 0.0001). Intakes of saturated fatty acid and vitamin E were negatively associated with the risk (trend p = 0.05 for saturated fatty acid and 0.03 for vitamin E).Our study clearly demonstrated that prolonged heavy alcohol consumption was an important and independent risk factor, and suggested a role of lower nutrient intakes in the development of chronic pancreatitis.