Nutritional status assessment in patients with chronic pancreatitis

Abstract

Background and aim: Malnutrition is a major problem in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP); nevertheless, there has been scant research on their nutritional assessment and management. The study objective was to perform a complete nutritional assessment in patients with CP and identify anthropometric and analytical parameters that facilitate the early detection of malnutrition. Methods: Data were gathered from 31 patients with CP on food frequency questionnaire results, anthropometric measurements, and analytical parameters. Results: Around half of the patients were overweight or obese. Around half consumed sweets, snacks, soft drinks, and red meats daily and reported a low intake of fish, vegetables, and nuts; one-quarter of patients had low prealbumin and insulin-like growth factor 1 levels; almost half had elevated total cholesterol. Conclusions: Measures need to be taken to improve the diet of patients with CP and to monitor their body composition. Data on levels of insulin-like growth factor type 1, a little used biochemical parameter, proved highly useful for the early detection of malnutrition in these patients.