Why do some pancreas patients get weak bones and vitamin problems?
Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency and Malnutrition in Chronic Pancreatitis: Identification, Treatment, and Consequences
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Vitamin D deficiency was just as common in patients with mild pancreas damage as in those with severe damage.
People assume worse pancreatic damage = worse nutrient loss, but this study found disease severity (measured by EUS or secretin test) didn’t predict vitamin levels — meaning even 'mild' cases need screening.
Practical Takeaways
If you or someone you know has chronic pancreatitis, ask your doctor for a MUST score, vitamin D test, and DEXA scan — even if you're taking enzyme pills.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
Surprising Findings
Vitamin D deficiency was just as common in patients with mild pancreas damage as in those with severe damage.
People assume worse pancreatic damage = worse nutrient loss, but this study found disease severity (measured by EUS or secretin test) didn’t predict vitamin levels — meaning even 'mild' cases need screening.
Practical Takeaways
If you or someone you know has chronic pancreatitis, ask your doctor for a MUST score, vitamin D test, and DEXA scan — even if you're taking enzyme pills.
Publication
Journal
Pancreas
Year
2018
Authors
M. Min, B. Patel, Samuel Han, Lisa Bocelli, Joan Kheder, Aditya Vaze, W. Wassef
Related Content
Claims (9)
Many adults with chronic pancreatitis have weak bones, even though most of them are already taking enzyme pills to help digest food—so those pills alone aren’t doing enough to protect their bones.
Even when people with chronic pancreatitis take pills to help digest food, many still lack important vitamins like D, A, and E—because their pancreas can’t properly absorb fats, and those vitamins come with fat.
If you have long-term pancreas inflammation, and your malnutrition risk score is 1 or higher, you’re much more likely to have weak bones — about 7 out of 10 people in this group have osteopenia or osteoporosis, and this link isn’t just by chance.
People with long-term pancreas inflammation often lack vitamin D — about 6 in 10 of them do — but even those with very damaged pancreases aren’t more likely to be deficient than those with milder damage, so how bad the pancreas looks on a scan doesn’t tell you if someone needs more vitamin D.
Your body needs to digest fats properly to absorb vitamin D from food—like how oil helps dissolve and carry the vitamin into your bloodstream.