Prevention of the diseases of pancreato-biliary tract

Abstract:

Benign pancreato-biliary diseases are very common and significant health resources are spent on their treatment. On the other hand, malignant pancreato-biliary diseases are often diagnosed late in the course of the disease resulting in a very bad prognosis. Since there is no specific treatment for acute and chronic pancreatitis, and treatment of pancreatic cancer is rather unsuccessful, prevention is potentially important in dealing with these diseases. Similarly with cholelithiasis, where specific etiologic treatment is possible, certain preventive measures can reduce the incidence and prevalence of the disease, and monitoring and preventive treatment can reduce the risk of complications. Pancreato-biliary diseases have common risk factors including age, gender and/or genetics, and also share numerous risk factors such as smoking, obesity, excessive alcohol consumption, bad nutrition (diet high in saturated fats, carbohydrates, protein, red meat and meat products, low in vegetables and folate), and diabetes. Some of these preventable risk factors represent lifestyle habits which is why there is a need for education and encouraging a healthy lifestyle in order to lessen the impact of these factors on the onset of pancreato-biliary diseases. 

Key words:
biliary tract diseases; pancreatic diseases; prevention