New study associates Obesity with Pancreatitis

PHOENIX-- The obesity pandemic poses a unique set of health problems including pancreatitis. Obesity may not only increase acute pancreatitis incidence but may worsen acute pancreatitis severity according to new study.

Researchers at Mayo Clinic in Arizona have found that obesity is not only implicated in chronic diseases such as diabetes, but also in sudden-onset diseases such as pancreatitis. The study has been published in the the Journal of Clinical Investigation.

"In our study, we were able to demonstrate that fat within the belly is rapidly degraded during acute pancreatitis, but not during diverticulitis, despite inflammation," says Vijay Singh, M.B.B.S., a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist.

Dr. Singh says while both diseases present with sudden belly pain and account for about 300,000 cases annually in the U.S., the rapid fat degradation that occurs in pancreatitis is triggered by a pancreatic enzyme called PNLIP. This enzyme can form fatty acids that cause vital body systems like circulation, kidney and lung functions to fail. Dr. Singh says this multisystem failure is much more common in acute pancreatitis than in diverticulitis.