Sarcopenia: An Assessment into the Prevalence and Disease Burden in Chronic Pancreatitis Patients

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prevalence of sarcopenia in patients referred to a Multidisciplinary Chronic Pancreatitis (CP) Clinic at the University Hospitals of Leicester. METHODS: All patients who had undergone CT scans were identified. Controls were identified from CT colonograms with no features of malignancy or pancreatic pathology. The psoas muscle index (PMI) was calculated using the formula: total psoas muscle cross-sectional area at the third lumbar vertebral level (cm(2))/ the patient’s height squared (m(2)). PMI cut-offs were <6.31cm(2)/m(2) and <3.91cm(2)/m(2) for males and females, respectively. RESULTS: 58 CP CT scans were available for analysis along with 62 control scans. 71.9% of CP patients had a PMI below the cut-off for their gender, compared to 45.2% of the controls. The mean PMI (±SD) for male CP patients and male controls were 5.54cm(2)/m(2) (±1.60) and 6.73 cm(2)/m(2) (±1.54), (P=0.0023). The mean PMI (±SD) for female CP patients and female controls were 3.82 cm(2)/m(2) (+/-1.46) and 4.98 cm(2)/m(2) (+/-1.43), (P=0.0021). CONCLUSIONS: CP patients had a mean PMI below the cut-off value, suggesting that CP patients are largely sarcopenic. As malnutrition is a significant feature of CP, optimisation of nutrition may help to ameliorate sarcopenia in CP patients.