CF and the pancreas

• CF and the pancreas:

  • Hyposecretion of major digestive enzymes
  • Food not digested or absorbed properly
  • fatty foods
  • fat soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E and K)
• CF and the pancreas:

  • Babies – failure to thrive
  • Fatty and offensive stools – steatorrhea
  • Adolescents – body image problems particularly males
  • Inadequate nutritional status is linked to poor survival
• CF and the pancreas:

  • Progressive fibrotic damage to the pancreas damages the islets of Langerhans
  • This can result in:
  • diabetes - CF related diabetes occurs in up to 50% of patients over 30 years