Alcoholic chronic pancreatitis: A quality of life study

ABSTRACT Objective: To compare the quality of life between patients with alcoholic chronic pancreatitis and controls, and between diabetic and non-diabetic patients, correlating clinical, sociodemographic, and nutritional factors with their quality of life scores. Methods: Forty-three outpatients of the pancreas and biliary tract clinic diagnosed with alcoholic chronic pancreatitis were assessed. Quality of life was measured by the Brazilian version of the Short Form-36. The control group consisted of 43 healthy companions. Nutritional status was classified according to body mass index and triceps, biceps, suprailiac, and subscapular skinfold thicknesses, using the appropriate methods. The percentage of body fat was given by adding the four skinfold thicknesses and by bioelectrical impedance analysis. The statistical tests included the Chi-square, Mann-Whitney, and Spearman's correlation tests, with the significance level set at p