Ansari_2025_Am.J.Gastroenterol__

INTRODUCTION: Long-term risk of acute pancreatitis (AP) and pancreatic cancer (PC) with mildly elevated lipase (MEL) is not well established. METHODS: Multi-center retrospective cohort study - "MEL" group had MEL without AP; "no MEL" group had abdominal pain but normal lipase, imaging, endoscopy, and labs. Primary outcomes were incidence of AP or PC in MEL vs. no MEL after at least 10-year follow up. RESULTS: 9,447 patients met inclusion criteria (5851 MEL, 3596 no MEL). Logistic regression identified MEL as an independent predictor of AP (2.8% vs 1.2%, OR 2.6, p<0.001) but not PC (0.4% vs 0.3%, OR 0.7, p 0.38). CONCLUSIONS: MEL was associated with increased long-term AP risk.