Pancreatitis in Soweto, South Africa. Focus on alcohol-related disease

Both acute pancreatitis and chronic pancreatitis now appear to be endemic at Soweto, South Africa, and they carry a substantial toll in terms of morbidity and mortality. Case-control studies identified the same three environmental factors in each disease, namely, heavy alcohol consumption, marked exposure to occupational chemicals and low intake of fruit (a major source of vitamin C). This congruity, and parallel trends on blood biochemical analysis indicating heightened free radical activity coupled with poor antioxidant status, suggest that the two diseases may be part of a pathobiological spectrum that is linked by pancreatic oxidant stress. Further, asymptomatic chronic alcoholics had plasma glutathione concentrations that were midway between the values in non-alcoholic controls and patients with chronic pancreatitis, being significantly different from each. And, finally, apparently healthy Sowetans were actually in a state of oxidant stress that was tied in with their very poor vitamin C status, and lower serum selenium concentrations than in the UK. These data, and evidence that both antioxidants mitigate against alcoholic toxicity in experimental studies, may offer scope for disease prophylaxis in this unprivileged community.