Clinical risk factors for sarcopenia in acute and chronic pancreatitis

Mitchell L. Ramsey; Andrew Lu; Kristyn Gumpper-Fedus; Stacey Culp; David Bradley; Darwin L. Conwell; Zobeida Cruz-Monserrate; J. Royce Groce; Samuel Han; Somashekar G. Krishna; Peter Lee; Thomas Mace; Georgios I. Papachristou; Kristen M. Roberts; Zarine K. Shah; Phil A. Hart

doi:10.1186/s12876-025-03609-4

Clinical risk factors for sarcopenia in acute and chronic pancreatitis

Mitchell L. Ramsey, Andrew Lu, Kristyn Gumpper-Fedus, Stacey Culp, David Bradley, Darwin L. Conwell, Zobeida Cruz-Monserrate, J. Royce Groce, Samuel Han, Somashekar G. Krishna, Peter Lee, Thomas Mace, Georgios I. Papachristou, Kristen M. Roberts, Zarine K. Shah, Phil A. Hart

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background: Sarcopenia is common in chronic pancreatitis (CP) and has been associated with unfavorable outcomes; however, it is not well studied in acute pancreatitis (AP). Aims: To evaluate risk factors for sarcopenia among individuals with AP or CP. Methods: A cross sectional analysis was performed among subjects with AP or CP seen in a tertiary care Pancreas Clinic. TeraRecon software was used to calculate the cross-sectional area of skeletal muscle, visceral fat, and subcutaneous fat at the level of the L3 vertebrae. Sarcopenia was classified using sex-specific skeletal muscle index. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed to assess differences between groups and associations with sarcopenia. Results: A total of 49 subjects with AP and 54 subjects with CP were included. Sarcopenia was more frequently observed in CP compared to AP (83.3% vs. 46.9%, p < 0.001). The multivariate logistic regression demonstrated CP, male sex, increased age, and decreased subcutaneous fat were independently associated with sarcopenia. Conclusion: Sarcopenia is observed in both CP and AP. In addition to traditional risk factors (including male sex, older age, and decreased subcutaneous fat), CP is independently associated with sarcopenia. Further investigations are necessary to gain deeper insights into sarcopenia pathogenesis, which could inform potential intervention strategies.

Original language	English
Article number	60
Journal	BMC Gastroenterology
Volume	25
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1186/s12876-025-03609-4
State	Published - Dec 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2025.

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the National Cancer Institute and National Institute of Diabetes And Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) under award number U01DK108327 (The Ohio State University). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Funders	Funder number
National Childhood Cancer Registry – National Cancer Institute
Ohio Water Resources Center, Ohio State University
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases	U01DK108327
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases

Keywords

Body composition
Sarcopenia
Skeletal muscle
Subcutaneous fat
Visceral fat

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Gastroenterology

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10.1186/s12876-025-03609-4

Cite this

Ramsey, M. L., Lu, A., Gumpper-Fedus, K., Culp, S., Bradley, D., Conwell, D. L., Cruz-Monserrate, Z., Groce, J. R., Han, S., Krishna, S. G., Lee, P., Mace, T., Papachristou, G. I., Roberts, K. M., Shah, Z. K., & Hart, P. A. (2025). Clinical risk factors for sarcopenia in acute and chronic pancreatitis. BMC Gastroenterology, 25(1), Article 60. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12876-025-03609-4

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title = "Clinical risk factors for sarcopenia in acute and chronic pancreatitis",

abstract = "Background: Sarcopenia is common in chronic pancreatitis (CP) and has been associated with unfavorable outcomes; however, it is not well studied in acute pancreatitis (AP). Aims: To evaluate risk factors for sarcopenia among individuals with AP or CP. Methods: A cross sectional analysis was performed among subjects with AP or CP seen in a tertiary care Pancreas Clinic. TeraRecon software was used to calculate the cross-sectional area of skeletal muscle, visceral fat, and subcutaneous fat at the level of the L3 vertebrae. Sarcopenia was classified using sex-specific skeletal muscle index. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed to assess differences between groups and associations with sarcopenia. Results: A total of 49 subjects with AP and 54 subjects with CP were included. Sarcopenia was more frequently observed in CP compared to AP (83.3\% vs. 46.9\%, p < 0.001). The multivariate logistic regression demonstrated CP, male sex, increased age, and decreased subcutaneous fat were independently associated with sarcopenia. Conclusion: Sarcopenia is observed in both CP and AP. In addition to traditional risk factors (including male sex, older age, and decreased subcutaneous fat), CP is independently associated with sarcopenia. Further investigations are necessary to gain deeper insights into sarcopenia pathogenesis, which could inform potential intervention strategies.",

keywords = "Body composition, Sarcopenia, Skeletal muscle, Subcutaneous fat, Visceral fat",

author = "Ramsey, \{Mitchell L.\} and Andrew Lu and Kristyn Gumpper-Fedus and Stacey Culp and David Bradley and Conwell, \{Darwin L.\} and Zobeida Cruz-Monserrate and Groce, \{J. Royce\} and Samuel Han and Krishna, \{Somashekar G.\} and Peter Lee and Thomas Mace and Papachristou, \{Georgios I.\} and Roberts, \{Kristen M.\} and Shah, \{Zarine K.\} and Hart, \{Phil A.\}",

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doi = "10.1186/s12876-025-03609-4",

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AU - Ramsey, Mitchell L.

AU - Lu, Andrew

AU - Gumpper-Fedus, Kristyn

AU - Culp, Stacey

AU - Bradley, David

AU - Conwell, Darwin L.

AU - Cruz-Monserrate, Zobeida

AU - Groce, J. Royce

AU - Han, Samuel

AU - Krishna, Somashekar G.

AU - Lee, Peter

AU - Mace, Thomas

AU - Papachristou, Georgios I.

AU - Roberts, Kristen M.

AU - Shah, Zarine K.

AU - Hart, Phil A.

PY - 2025/12

Y1 - 2025/12

N2 - Background: Sarcopenia is common in chronic pancreatitis (CP) and has been associated with unfavorable outcomes; however, it is not well studied in acute pancreatitis (AP). Aims: To evaluate risk factors for sarcopenia among individuals with AP or CP. Methods: A cross sectional analysis was performed among subjects with AP or CP seen in a tertiary care Pancreas Clinic. TeraRecon software was used to calculate the cross-sectional area of skeletal muscle, visceral fat, and subcutaneous fat at the level of the L3 vertebrae. Sarcopenia was classified using sex-specific skeletal muscle index. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed to assess differences between groups and associations with sarcopenia. Results: A total of 49 subjects with AP and 54 subjects with CP were included. Sarcopenia was more frequently observed in CP compared to AP (83.3% vs. 46.9%, p < 0.001). The multivariate logistic regression demonstrated CP, male sex, increased age, and decreased subcutaneous fat were independently associated with sarcopenia. Conclusion: Sarcopenia is observed in both CP and AP. In addition to traditional risk factors (including male sex, older age, and decreased subcutaneous fat), CP is independently associated with sarcopenia. Further investigations are necessary to gain deeper insights into sarcopenia pathogenesis, which could inform potential intervention strategies.

AB - Background: Sarcopenia is common in chronic pancreatitis (CP) and has been associated with unfavorable outcomes; however, it is not well studied in acute pancreatitis (AP). Aims: To evaluate risk factors for sarcopenia among individuals with AP or CP. Methods: A cross sectional analysis was performed among subjects with AP or CP seen in a tertiary care Pancreas Clinic. TeraRecon software was used to calculate the cross-sectional area of skeletal muscle, visceral fat, and subcutaneous fat at the level of the L3 vertebrae. Sarcopenia was classified using sex-specific skeletal muscle index. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were performed to assess differences between groups and associations with sarcopenia. Results: A total of 49 subjects with AP and 54 subjects with CP were included. Sarcopenia was more frequently observed in CP compared to AP (83.3% vs. 46.9%, p < 0.001). The multivariate logistic regression demonstrated CP, male sex, increased age, and decreased subcutaneous fat were independently associated with sarcopenia. Conclusion: Sarcopenia is observed in both CP and AP. In addition to traditional risk factors (including male sex, older age, and decreased subcutaneous fat), CP is independently associated with sarcopenia. Further investigations are necessary to gain deeper insights into sarcopenia pathogenesis, which could inform potential intervention strategies.

KW - Body composition

KW - Sarcopenia

KW - Skeletal muscle

KW - Subcutaneous fat

KW - Visceral fat

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ER -

Clinical risk factors for sarcopenia in acute and chronic pancreatitis

Abstract

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Funding

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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