Epidemiology of acute pancreatitis in Poland – selected problems

Abstract

In recent years in many European countries, an increase has been observed in the incidence of acute pancreatitis (AP). Analysis of the results of scarce Polish epidemiological studies suggests that Poland belongs to the countries with the highest incidence rate -72.1/100 000. The incidence rate in the Kielce region is 99.9/100 000 and 79.7/100 000 patients who experienced the first episode of pancreatitis. The main cause of contracting the disease is gallstones, responsible for 34% of cases, while alcohol is the cause of AP in 24.1% of patients. In recent years, an increase has been noted in the incidence of AP with a severe course. Although in the majority of patients the course of the disease is mild, in the severe form mortality remains within the range 30-60%. StreszczenieW ostatnich latach obserwuje się wzrost zachorowań na ostre zapalenie trzustki (OZT) w wielu krajach. Analiza wyników nielicznych polskich badań epidemiologicznych pozwala przypuszczać, że Polska należy do krajów o jednym z najwyższych współczynników zachorowalności -72,1/100 000. Współczynnik zachorowalności w województwie świętokrzyskim wynosi 99,9/100 000. Po raz pierwszy na OZT chorowało 79,7/100 000 osób. Główną przyczyną zachorowania polskich pacjentów jest kamica żółciowa, która odpowiada za 34% przypadków. Alkohol jest przyczyną OZT u 24,1% chorych. Stwierdza się ponadto wzrost częstości występowania OZT o ciężkim przebiegu. Chociaż u większości pacjentów choroba ma przebieg łagodny, to w przypadku ciężkiej postaci śmiertelność kształtuje się na poziomie 30-60%.

Clinical and epidemiological aspects of acute pancreatitis - 10 years of single-center experience

“…Due to lack of large scale population studies it is difficult to accurately and scrupulously obtain viable data of incidence of AP in the Polish population. This is mainly caused by a [5]. There are 2 epidemiological studies containing clinical data of patients with AP in Poland [6,9].…”

“…It needs to be pointed out that the above-mentioned study was conducted in United Kingdom (excluding Scotland) [12]. As most authors highlight in different values regarding incidence and other clinical and epidemiological data and most importantly etiology differs significantly depending on the population of the country or region [5][6]9,[12][13]. Furthermore, even within the same population, the incidence of AP differs depending on the time of year (e.g.…”

“…The incidence of AP is rising worldwide, which greatly increases the costs of hospitalization and treatment of the patients [5][6][7][8]. AP is the most common pancreatic illness and one of the most common acute conditions in gastroenterology [7].…”

“…AP is the most common pancreatic illness and one of the most common acute conditions in gastroenterology [7]. The few existing epidemiological studies of AP in Poland suggest that Poland is among the countries with the highest rates of incidence of AP in the world which is 72/100000/ year (worldwide 33.74/100000/year) [5][6][7][8][9]. The total annual cost of AP patients' treatment depends on etiology, severity, treatment in intensive care units and infection complications [8].…”

Genetic determination of pancreatitis

“…In Polish studies, cholelithiasis was diagnosed in 30.1% of patients hospitalised due to AP, especially females at an older age, and alcohol-related cause in 24.1% of patients, mainly the young. It should be presumed that in a large group, 41.1% of unrecognised causes of the disease were also alcohol and gallstones [10,23]. Recurrent AP occurred in nearly 15% of patients [24].…”