BACKGROUND: Abdominal pain is one of the most prominent symptoms in patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) and can manifest intermittently or persistently. The mechanism of pain is not yet clear, and no effective treatment is currently available. This study aimed to explore the risk factors for pain in patients with CP, which may provide new insights for developing effective pain control modalities. METHODS: This clinical study was based on a single-centre research database that included 570 patients with CP. We compared the differences in baseline data, clinical characteristics, and psychophysiology traits between patients with and without pain. Subsequently, patients will be followed up to assess changes in their risk factors and explore their relationship with pain. RESULTS: In the final risk factor model, young age (P = .031
odds ratio [OR] = 0.986 [0.973, 0.999]), prolonged disease duration (P <
.002
OR = 1.307 [1.127, 1.516]), heavy smoking (P = .014
OR = 1.331 [1.060, 1.617]), alcohol consumption (P = .003
OR = 1.419 [1.127, 1.788]), low body mass index (P <
.002
OR = 0.786 [0.703, 0.879]), pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (P = .040
OR = 1.683 [1.024, 2.767]), acute pancreatitis attacks (P = .027
OR = 1.759 [1.067, 2.902]), anxiety, and depression (P = .016
OR = 1.047 [1.009, 1.088]
P = .014
OR = 1.068 [1.013, 1.126]) were associated with CP pain. Reducing tobacco and alcohol intake (P = .002
OR = 2.367 [1.525, 4.637]
P = .024
OR = 2.011 [1.085, 3.199]), increasing the body mass index (P = .005
OR = 1.968 [1.265, 3.805]), and improving anxiety (P = .002
OR = 1.164 [1.081, 1.340]) were identified to be beneficial for pain relief. Compared to the effects on persistent pain, pancreatic enzyme supplementation (P = .004
OR = 1.794 [1.186, 2.502]) had a clear effect on intermittent pain in patients with CP. CONCLUSION: We identified a multifactorial model of pain risk factors for CP and confirmed that modifying these risk factors could influence patient pain symptoms.