Background: Gallstones acute pancreatitis has increased incidence in young women in the 2 years postpartum. Middle aged women with longer period of breastfeeding have less hospitalization for gallbladder disease. Methods: We identified all sicilian women who delivered (2013-2016) and had acute pancreatitis within 2 years postpartum, reviewed their medical records and for each case we matched 4 women of the same age (+ 5 years), date (+ 30 days) and hospital of delivery without acute pancreatitis. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate the Odds Ratio (OR) to assess associations between acute pancreatitis and clinical variables. Results: In the 74 women with AP and 298 controls at univariate analysis: > 6 months oral contraception history (p<0.01 - OR 3.30 - 95% CI 1.33-8.16); previous biliary disease (p < 0.001 - OR 5.90 - 95% CI 1.98-17.57) and smoking (p = 0.035 - OR 2.04 - 95% CI 1.04-4.0) were predictors of acute pancreatitis; amenorrhea > 3 months (p < 0.001 - OR 0.34 - 95% CI 0.19-0.59) and breastfeeding > 3 months (p < 0.001 - OR 0.07 - 95% CI 0.03-0.14) were protective. At multivariate previous biliary disease (p = 0.011 - OR 5.49 - 95% CI 1.48-20.38) was predictor and breastfeeding >3 months (p < 0.001- OR 0.06 CI 95% 0.03-0.14) was protective for acute pancreatitis. Conclusions: Women without a history of biliary disorders and who breastfeed for at least 3 months have reduced risk to develop AP in the 2 years after delivery.
The long-standing research Interest Of Alberto Maringhini, M.D. is in biliary and pancreatic diseases. He started with a peculiar interest on portal hypertension and bleeding in cirrhotics and then in diagnosis of portal hypertension and hepatocellular carcinoma. Then he started his interest on gallbladder and pregnancy, acute pancreatitis diagnosis and prognosis, pancreatic cancer clinics and epidemiology. Cronic pancreatitis laboratoruy diagnosis and clinical presentation. Finally, acute pancreatitis and pregnancy and breast feeding in prevention of post partum acute pancreatitis. His clinical work in internal medicine and mainly in gastroeneterology started in 1977 and nowadays he is directore of interbal medicine in the largest hospital in Sicily and in southern Italy after “Cldarelli Hospital” in Naples