Pancreatic Insufficiency
Healthy Lifestyle Tips
Since alcoholism is one known cause of pancreatitis, total abstinence from alcohol is generally recommended to people with this disease.55 In a study of alcoholic chronic pancreatitis patients, pancreatic function declined to a greater degree in those who continued to drink alcohol.56 Another study found that abstinence from alcohol had a significant long-term beneficial effect on some of the problems associated with chronic pancreatitis.57
Cigarette smoking decreases pancreatic secretion58 and increases the risk of pancreatitis59 and pancreatic cancer,60 providing yet another reason to quit smoking.
In a large international study, the major risk factors for early death in a group of patients with chronic alcoholic and nonalcoholic pancreatitis included smoking and drinking alcohol.61