Functional dyspepsia and exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) represent two gastrointestinal disorders that can occur concomitantly. Functional dyspepsia involves chronic digestive symptoms without identifiable organic causes, while EPI refers to insufficient pancreatic enzyme production for adequate digestion.
Functional dyspepsia is prevalent in the general population, with estimates ranging from 10% to 30% based on various studies. Defined by Rome IV criteria, functional dyspepsia includes epigastric pain, early satiety, or postprandial bloating in the absence of organic conditions. EPI may occur more frequently in individuals with functional dyspepsia. Small studies have identified EPI as a potential mechanism contributing to symptoms. Dyspepsia has been identified as an independent predictor of EPI in research exploring this condition within irritable bowel syndrome.
Recent findings suggest a possible association between EPI and functional dyspepsia. Research by Tahtaci et al. (2018) evaluated EPI in a cohort with functional dyspepsia, revealing that approximately 15% of these patients met criteria for EPI. These findings underscore the importance of evaluating EPI in cases of persistent symptoms unresponsive to conventional treatment. Early identification of EPI may enhance therapeutic management and improve quality of life in this population.
Further studies remain necessary to elucidate the relationship between functional dyspepsia and EPI, establish precise diagnostic criteria, and optimize treatment strategies.
This study adopts a prospective, cross-sectional, and analytical design. A total of 65 patients with functional dyspepsia will undergo assessments including:
- Symptom severity questionnaires addressing depression, anxiety, somatization, and stress.
- Pancreatic Exocrine Insufficiency Questionnaire (PEI-Q).
- Alcohol and tobacco use (anticipated to correlate with higher prevalence of chronic pancreatitis).
- Measurements of weight, height, and abdominal circumference.
- Fecal elastase-1 (Fel-1) testing.
- Serum analysis of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines.
- Hydrogen and methane breath testing for small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).
EPI will be diagnosed based on fecal elastase-1 concentrations <100 µg/g or values between 100 and 200 µg/g in conjunction with abnormalities in additional pancreatic pathology tests, including serum albumin, vitamin E, vitamin D, vitamin A, folic acid, iron, transferrin, calcium, magnesium, or evidence of malnutrition from anthropometric measurements by a nutritionist. Fecal elastase values ≥200 µg/g will be considered normal.
Patients with fecal elastase values below 200 will undergo additional testing, including:
- Proteinogram, vitamin E, vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin K, folic acid, B12, calcium, magnesium, zinc, iron profile, and nutritional assessment with anthropometry.
For patients diagnosed with EPI, additional evaluations will include:
- IgG4, alpha-1 antitrypsin, and endoscopic ultrasound.
Based on these parameters, patients will be categorized into EPI and non-EPI groups.
