Metabolic syndrome components and acute pancreatitis: a case-control study in China

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common inflammatory disorder of the pancreas. Recent evidence has shown that metabolic syndrome is positively correlated with the severity of AP. However, only a few studies have revealed the relationship between metabolic syndrome and the occurrence of AP. We therefore elucidated the association between metabolic syndrome and the occurrence of AP.

A hospital-based case-control study was conducted. A total of 705 patients admitted to our hospital from January 2016 to December 2018 were included in the study. Subjects were divided into case and control groups according to their diagnosis: (1) According to the revised Atlanta classification from 2012, patients diagnosed with AP were enrolled in the case group. (2) Patients without a history of AP or any disease related to metabolic syndrome were allocated into the control group. Controls were matched to cases individually by sex and age (control/case ratio = 1).

The incidence rate of metabolic syndrome in AP patients was 30.9%, which was more frequent than that in controls (13.2%) (OR 2.837; 95% CI 1.873-4.298, p < 0.001). In the multivariate regression analysis, a history of smoking or alcohol consumption and biliary stones were significantly associated with AP (OR 2.441; 95% CI 1.865-5.172, p < 0.001; OR 1.777; 95% CI 1.060-2.977, p = 0.029; OR 28.995; 95% CI 13.253-63.435, p < 0.001). In addition, the occurrence of AP was significantly associated with total cholesterol (TC) (OR 1.992; 95% CI 1.246-3.183, p = 0.004), triglyceride (TG) (OR 2.134; 95% CI 1.403-3.245, p < 0.001), hyperglycaemia (OR 2.261; 95% CI 1.367-3.742, p = 0.001), and apolipoprotein A (Apo A) (OR 0.270; 95% CI 0.163-0.447, p < 0.001).

Metabolic syndrome and its components were associated with AP occurrence.