Context: The association between acute pancreatitis and primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) is controversial.
Objective: The aim of the study was to address the incidence and disease characteristics of acute pancreatitis in PHPT from a large inception cohort of community residents.
Design and setting: Patients with acute pancreatitis were identified in an Olmsted County, Minnesota, cohort of PHPT subjects diagnosed from 1965-2001 and compared to matched control subjects.
Main outcome measures: The estimated rate of developing acute pancreatitis was calculated by person-years method. Cox models assessed the effect of PHPT disease status on the development of acute pancreatitis.
Results: Of 684 patients with PHPT, 10 patients (1.5%) developed acute pancreatitis, compared to 32 of 1364 control patients (2.3%). The estimated rate of development of acute pancreatitis in PHPT was 114 per 100,000 person-years, compared to 140 per 100,000 person-years in control subjects (P = 0.56). The estimated hazard ratio of acute pancreatitis for PHPT relative to the control subjects was 0.84 (P = 0.89). The majority of subjects with PHPT and acute pancreatitis were women (n = 7), and the mean age was 70.6 yr at the time of acute pancreatitis. PHPT was present an average of 137 months before the development of acute pancreatitis, and contributing causes for acute pancreatitis were in identified in four patients. Maximal serum calcium levels in PHPT were not significantly associated with the development of acute pancreatitis.
Conclusions: Acute pancreatitis was not increased in community patients with PHPT, and therefore, there does not appear to be a causal relationship between PHPT and acute pancreatitis.