Sex and age differences in alcoholic pancreatitis in Japan: a multicenter nationwide survey

The objective of this study was to clarify the alcohol-drinking habits in patients with alcoholic pancreatitis in Japan.

A questionnaire was made to ask about the alcohol consumption in patients with alcoholic pancreatitis treated between April 1, 2006, and March 31, 2009. The questionnaire was mailed to 1295 hospitals.

Detailed information on the alcohol consumption was obtained in 396 patients with alcoholic acute pancreatitis (338 males and 58 females) and 670 patients with alcoholic chronic pancreatitis (609 males and 61 females). Female patients developed acute pancreatitis 6.8 years or were diagnosed as having chronic pancreatitis 9.7 years earlier compared with male patients. Duration of alcohol consumption was shorter, and cumulative amounts of alcohol consumption before the diagnosis of alcoholic pancreatitis were smaller in female patients than those in male patients. Male smokers developed acute or chronic pancreatitis at younger ages than did nonsmokers. Compared with those who achieved complete abstinence, continued drinking as before increased the risk of recurrence within 2.1 years to 7.1-fold.

Female patients develop alcoholic pancreatitis at younger ages, with shorter duration and smaller cumulative amounts of alcohol consumption than compared with male patients. Male smokers developed alcoholic pancreatitis at younger ages than did nonsmokers. Continued alcohol drinking led to the recurrence of pancreatitis.