Visceral Adipose Tissue as a Risk Factor for Diabetes Mellitus in Patients with Chronic Pancreatitis: A Cross-sectional, Observational Study

INTRODUCTION Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) is a risk factor for diabetes and we investigated the amount of VAT in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP). METHODS Serial patients with CP seen between January 2015 and June 2016 were included in this cross-sectional, observational study. The study population was divided into alcoholic CP (group 1; N = 67) and tropical CP (group 2; N = 35). VAT was estimated using bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA) and dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) methods. The results were analyzed by appropriate statistical methods. RESULTS The study participants (85 male, 17 female) had a mean (SD) age of 40.8 (12.6) years, CP duration of 3.7 (4.7) years, and body mass index of 22.5 (3.2) kg/m2. Pancreatogenic diabetes was seen in 54 patients and the total body fat percentage was lower in the alcoholic CP group. VAT mass was similar in both the groups (p = 0.8749). CP patients with diabetes had a higher VAT mass (436 vs. 341 g) than those without diabetes (p = 0.0132). DEXA and BIA correlated in estimation of total body fat (p < 0.0001) but not in VAT (p = 0.0922). CONCLUSION VAT is a determinant in the development of diabetes, even in patients with CP. DEXA is a better modality for VAT estimation in comparison to BIA.