Increased Risk of Osteopathy in Chronic Pancreatitis

Findings of the PROCEED longitudinal cohort provided evidence that 56% of the patients who had chronic pancreatitis (CP) showed osteopathy on dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) screening. The results of the study are published in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

“In the largest study of patients with chronic pancreatitis who underwent DXA screening, the majority had osteopathy,” the researchers wrote. “There are overlapping risk factors with osteopathy in the general population, but the high prevalence in men and younger women supports the need for future investigations into the mechanisms of bone loss in CP.”

To establish the association of CP with osteopathy—including both osteoporosis and osteopenia—the team studied 282 patients with CP who had the DXA scan. The scan revealed that 56% of the enrolled patients had osteopathy; 39% had osteopenia and 17% had osteoporosis.

Through the multivariate regression analysis, the study found that the risk of osteopathy increased for:

• older age (odds ratio [OR], 1.29 per 5 years; 95% CI, 1.15–1.45),
• women (OR, 3.08; 95% CI, 1.75–5.43),
• White race (OR, 2.68; 95% CI, 1.20–6.01), and
• body mass index lower than 18.5 (OR, 7.40; 95% CI, 1.56–34.99)

Patients with CP as well as osteopathy also faced higher odds of traumatic (40%) and spontaneous fractures (3.9%). No significant associations between osteopathy and other patient and disease-related features of CP were reported.

The study provided insight on how adults who would not generally be considered at risk of bone disease are in fact at higher risk of bone disease if they have chronic pancreatitis. “The high risk of bone disease in chronic pancreatitis patients overall illustrates the need for both physicians and patients to be vigilant in monitoring bone health,” the researchers advised.

—Priyam Vora

Reference:
Hart P, Yadav D, Li L et al. High prevalence of osteopathy in chronic pancreatitis: A cross-sectional analysis from the PROCEED study. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2022: 20(9); 2005-2013. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cgh.2021.09.026