Pancreatitis in a Native American Indian Population

We have studied pancreatitis in a population of Southwestern American Indians where gallstones are frequent, alcohol consumption is presumably high, but where smoking is an uncommon habit. Over a 5-year period, 131 cases of pancreatitis (65 males, 66 females) were observed: 66 (50%) were thought to be biliary pancreatitis, 54 cases (41%) alcoholic pancreatitis, and 5 cases (4%) were caused by injuries. In 6 cases (5%) no definite cause was found. Smoking appeared to be increased in male subjects with alcoholic pancreatitis when compared to subjects with alcoholic liver cirrhosis--a group with similar drinking habits. (Adjusted odds ratio = 12.5, p = 0.008). No such relationship was observed for females. Our findings suggest that in this population smoking may be an additional important risk factor for male subjects with alcoholic pancreatitis.