A Comparison of Nutritional Profiles of Patients with Alcohol-related Pancreatitis and Cirrhosis

A multifactorial study of 58 variables of alcohol, dietary and tobacco habits of 106 chronic alcoholic and normal subjects was conducted over 2 years. The alcoholic population included subjects with either calcifying chronic pancreatitis (CCP) or cirrhosis (Ci). A standardized, previously validated questionnaire was used to investigate dietary intakes, drinking and smoking habits. The patients with CCP consumed a richer diet than those with Ci, consisting mainly of saturated fats and animals proteins. Although the alcoholics with CCP drank the same total quantity of alcohol as the alcoholics with Ci, they drank it over a shorter time period (less than 20 years) before diagnosis. Differences in the nutritional profiles of the two groups indicate that the population with alcohol-related digestive diseases is made up of subjects with different drinking and eating habits. These behavioural differences with respect to dietary and alcohol intake indicate that the alcoholic patients with CCP or Ci belong to different subgroups.