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/m(2). 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.