alcoholic chronic pancreatitis: a quality of life study

ABSTRACT Objective: To compare the quality of life between patients with alcoholic chronic pancreatitis and controls, and between diabetic and non-diabetic patients, correlating clinical, sociodemographic, and nutritional factors with their quality of life scores. Methods: Forty-three outpatients of the pancreas and biliary tract clinic diagnosed with alcoholic chronic pancreatitis were assessed. Quality of life was measured by the Brazilian version of the Short Form-36. The control group consisted of 43 healthy companions. Nutritional status was classified according to body mass index and triceps, biceps, suprailiac, and subscapular skinfold thicknesses, using the appropriate methods. The percentage of body fat was given by adding the four skinfold thicknesses and by bioelectrical impedance analysis. The statistical tests included the Chi-square, Mann-Whitney, and Spearman's correlation tests, with the significance level set at p<0.05. Results: The sociodemographic variables of the case and control groups did not differ. Quality of life was lower in alcoholic chronic pancreatitis patients than in controls. The only quality of life domain that differed between diabetics and non-diabetics was functional capacity, lower in diabetics (p=0.022). Smoking duration, alcohol intake in grams, and time since pancreatic surgery correlated negatively with the quality of life of alcoholic chronic pancreatitis patients. Old age, skinfold thicknesses, and percentage of body fat correlated positively with quality of life. Conclusion: Quality of life is low in alcoholic chronic pancreatitis patients because of the negative influence of certain factors, such as smoking duration, amount of alcohol consumed, and time since pancreatic surgery.