ABSTRACT
Chronic alcohol consumption is generally considered as being a frequent cause of chronic pancreatitis (CP). In two international surveys (68,73), it has been shown that alcoholic chronic pancreatitis was particularly frequent in the rich countries when alcohol consumption was high (i.e., particularly in the Occidental world). As alcohol consumption is increasing tremendously, the frequency of alcoholic pancreatitis is also increasing (73). In the tropical countries of Africa and Asia but probably not of Latin America, CP is significantly associated with malnutrition in childhood (kwashiorkor), alcohol consumption being, nevertheless, the second cause of the disease (73).
