Mortality, cancer, and comorbidities associated with chronic pancreatitis: a Danish nationwide matched-cohort study

We aimed to assess the risk of death, cancer, and comorbidities among patients with alcoholic and nonalcoholic chronic pancreatitis (CP).

We performed a nationwide retrospective cohort study, collecting data from Danish registries from 1995 through 2010. We evaluated the prevalences and incidences of death, cancers, and comorbidities among subjects with CP (cases) compared with age- and sex-matched individuals (controls). In total, 11,972 cases (71,814 person-years) and 119,720 controls (917,436 person-years) were included in the analysis. Hazard ratios (HR) were estimated by Cox proportional hazards regression.

Forty-six percent of the cases died during the follow-up period, compared with 13.0% of controls (mean age, 63.7 vs 72.1 y; P < .0001), corresponding to a HR of 5.0 for CP (95% confidence interval [CI], 4.8-5.2). Cancer was a frequent cause of death among cases (10.2%) and controls (3.3%). Cancer (particularly pancreatic cancer) was a frequent cause of death among cases; the HR was 6.9 (95% CI, 7.5-11.8). Alcoholic CP did not produce a higher risk for cancer or death than nonalcoholic CP. Cerebrovascular disease (HR, 1.3; 95% CI, 1.2-1.4), chronic pulmonary disease (HR, 1.9; 95% CI, 1.8-2.1), ulcer disease (HR, 3.6; 95% CI, 3.3-3.9), diabetes (HR, 5.2; 95% CI, 5.0-5.6), and chronic renal disease (HR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.5-1.9) occurred more frequently among patients with CP, but myocardial infarction did not (HR, 0.9; 95% CI, 0.8-1.0).

Based on a Danish nationwide cohort study, individuals with CP are at higher risk for death from cancer (particularly pancreatic cancer) and have a higher incidence of comorbidities than people without CP.