Comparison of the Severity and Complications of Acute Pancreatitis in Obese and Non-obese Patients According to the Atlanta and Balthazar Scores

Today, the incidence of acute pancreatitis (AP) is gradually increasing. According to the Atlanta criteria, the presence of two of the three findings (characteristic abdominal pain starting from the epigastrium and spreading to the left upper quadrant in a belt manner from there, which is severe enough to bring the patient to the emergency room, amylase and lipase values being 3 of normal, radiological imaging being compatible with AP) is sufficient for the diagnosis. The disease has a mild course of 80% of patients and usually resolves within a week, but the course is severe enough to require intensive care treatment in 15-20% of patients. AP may have local (pseudocyst, abscess, necrosis, vascular thrombosis) and systemic (organ failure; lung, heart, gastrointestinal, and renal) complications.

The frequency of obesity (OB) is also increasing in societies, according to the world health organization (WHO) data, 39% of women aged ≥18 and 39% of men were overweight in 2016 in the world. Overweight and OB are defined as excessive fat accumulation that can impair health, which is an important risk factor for many chronic diseases, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. While once seen only as a problem in high-income countries, overweight and OB are increasing significantly in low- and middle-income countries. Body mass index (BMI) is a simple index commonly used to classify overweight and OB in adults. It is defined by dividing a person's weight by the square of their height (kg/m2). According to WHO, if the BMI is between 25-30 kg/m2, it is considered overweight, if it is ≥30,1 kg/m2, it is considered OB. An increase in the frequency of gallstones, in lipids, and in abdominal adipose tissue in OBs are expected to increase the development of AP as the cytokine and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α levels in the body increase. In recent years, the number of publications indicating a relationship between OB and AP frequency has been increasing.

Retrospectively, 1550 patients who followed up at the Gastroenterology Clinic of Bezmialem Vakif University between 10/2010 and 02/2020, aged ≥18 years and diagnosed with AP according to the Atlanta definition criteria were screened. After the exclusion of patients with incomplete data, 1334 patients were included in the study.

Patients' age, gender, smoking/alcohol usage, presence of diabetes/hypertension, and etiologies that cause AP and BMI were recorded.

The patients were divided into 3 groups according to their BMI;