The impact of obesity on acute pancreatitis outcomes in older patients

Although obesity is an established risk factor for a number of diseases, several epidemiological studies have demonstrated that older obese patients have better survival rates than non-obese old patients in various disease states. In this context, the relationship between obesity and acute pancreatitis outcome in older patients is controversial. Therefore, the authors aimed to investigate the impact of obesity on acute pancreatitis outcomes in older patients.

Patients aged > 65 years who had been hospitalized for acute pancreatitis were retrospectively analyzed. Among them, 190 patients were included. The median age was 73 (68-79) years, and 118 (62.1%) were women. Obesity was assessed according to body mass index, and patients were classified as either obese or non-obese. The primary endpoint of the study was in-hospital major adverse events (major in-hospital complications and death). The secondary endpoints were acute pancreatitis recurrence, 30-day all-cause mortality, and long-term all-cause mortality.

A total of 77 (40.5%) patients were obese. In-hospital major adverse events were observed in 40 (21.1%) patients. There was no statistical difference in major in-hospital adverse events between the two groups (27 [23.9%] in non-obese patients vs. 13 [16.9%] in obese patients, p = 0.24). Further, the 30-day mortality, long-term survival, and acute pancreatitis recurrence rates were similar (all p > 0.05). The median follow-up time was 18 (0-80) months.

Obesity does not result in higher mortality or complications in older patients with acute pancreatitis. Although the underlying mechanism needs to be elucidated, the deleterious effect of obesity seems to be diminished in older patients.