Smoking Is Associated with Worse Clinical Outcomes in Chronic Pancreatitis

Tobacco smoking is a known risk factor for progression of chronic pancreatitis (CP).

We compare clinical outcomes of CP patients with current or former smoking with those who have never smoked.

We reviewed all patients with followed at our Pancreas Center from 2016 to 2021, comparing the demographics, clinical features, comorbidities, outcomes, and resource utilization between smokers and non-smokers.

Of 439 CP patients, 283 were smokers (125 current, 158 former). Significantly more smokers were men (58.3% vs 40.4%), with alcoholic CP (45.5% vs 12.1%), chronic abdominal pain (77.7% vs 65.4%), anxiety and depression (22.6% vs 14.1% and 38.9% vs 23.1%), and with more local pancreatic complications [splanchnic vein thrombosis (15.7% vs 5.13%), pseudocyst (42.7% vs 23.7%), biliary obstruction (20.5% vs 5.88%)], exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (65.8% vs 46.2%), hospitalizations (2.59 vs 1.75 visits), and emergency department visits (8.96% vs 3.25%). Opioid and neuromodulator use were significantly higher (59.2% vs 30.3% and 58.4% vs 31.2%). Current smokers had worse outcomes than former smokers. Multivariate analysis controlling for multiple factors identified smoking as an independent predictor of chronic abdominal pain (OR 2.49, CI 1.23–5.04, p = 0.011), opioid (OR 2.36, CI 1.35–4.12, p = 0.002), neuromodulators (OR 2.55, CI 1.46–4.46, p = 0.001), and non-opioid-controlled medications (OR 2.28, CI 1.22–4.30, p = 0.01) use, as well as splanchnic vein thromboses (OR 2.65, CI 1.02–6.91, p = 0.045) and biliary obstruction (OR 4.12, CI 1.60–10.61, p = 0.003).

CP patients who smoke or formerly smoked have greater morbidity and worse outcomes than non-smokers.