Health Dictionary Find a Doctor

Acute pancreatitis epidemiology and demographics

Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Raviteja Guddeti, M.B.B.S. [2]; Tarek Nafee, M.D. [3]

Overview

Overview

The annual incidence of acute pancreatitis in the U.S. is 18 to 49 per 100,000 population. In several European studies, the incidence of acute pancreatitis is reported at 12.4 to 31.2 per 100,000. A consistent increase in the incidence of pancreatitis has been reported in different geographical regions. Acute pancreatitis commonly affects adults of all ages. As of late, there is a significant increase in incidence among hospitalized children and has been reported as high as 3.5 per 100,000 hospitalized children.

Epidemiology and Demographics

Epidemiology and Demographics

Incidence

The incidence of acute pancreatitis is variable and fluctuates between 12.4 to 31.2 per 100,000 depending on the population and time period studied. More importantly, there is a consistent trend of increasing incidence across different studies.[1][2] [3][4][5]

A UK study reports increased incidence from the mid-1990s to 2013, in both males and females from ~14.5 to ~30 per 100,000. [6]

The reason for this increased incidence is not well understood with some reporting an increase in alcoholic pancreatitis, while others reporting a decrease in this etiology. An increase in gallstone and gallbladder associated conditions has been reported.

Mortality

The mortality associated with acute pancreatitis has decreased significantly over the years with improvements in medical care. Currently the mortality is about ~2%. This figure increases depending on the subgroup studied. Subgroups associated with a higher mortality include the elderly, the morbidly obese, and patients who acquire hospital infections. Mortality has been reported as high as 30% in some patient groups.[7][8][5]

Age

Acute pancreatitis commonly affects adults of all ages. As of late, there is a significant increase in incidence among hospitalized children and has been reported as high as 3.5 per 100,000 hospitalized children.[9][5]

Gender

Acute pancreatitis affects both men and women. Most studies report a slightly higher incidence in men than women.[5]

Race

Blacks carry a 2-3 fold risk of developing pancreatitis than other races [3][4][5]

References

References

  1. Lindkvist B, Appelros S, Manjer J, Borgström A (2004). “Trends in incidence of acute pancreatitis in a Swedish population: is there really an increase?”. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2 (9): 831–7. PMID 15354285.
  2. Yadav D, Lowenfels AB (2013). “The epidemiology of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer”. Gastroenterology. 144 (6): 1252–61. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2013.01.068. PMC 3662544. PMID 23622135.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Yadav D, Lowenfels AB (2013). “The epidemiology of pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer”. Gastroenterology. 144 (6): 1252–61. doi:10.1053/j.gastro.2013.01.068. PMC 3662544. PMID 23622135.
  4. 4.0 4.1 Yadav D, Muddana V, O’Connell M (2011). “Hospitalizations for chronic pancreatitis in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, USA”. Pancreatology. 11 (6): 546–52. doi:10.1159/000331498. PMC 3270812. PMID 22205468.
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Forsmark CE, Vege SS, Wilcox M (November 17,2016). “Acute Pancreatitis”. The New England Journal of Medicine: 1972–1981. doi:10.1056/NEJMra1505202. Retrieved November 25,2016. Check date values in: |access-date=, |date= (help)
  6. Hazra N, Gulliford M (2014). “Evaluating pancreatitis in primary care: a population-based cohort study”. Br J Gen Pract. 64 (622): e295–301. doi:10.3399/bjgp14X679732. PMC 4001169. PMID 24771844.
  7. Yang AL, Vadhavkar S, Singh G, Omary MB (2008). “Epidemiology of alcohol-related liver and pancreatic disease in the United States”. Arch Intern Med. 168 (6): 649–56. doi:10.1001/archinte.168.6.649. PMID 18362258.
  8. Dellinger EP, Forsmark CE, Layer P, Lévy P, Maraví-Poma E, Petrov MS; et al. (2012). “Determinant-based classification of acute pancreatitis severity: an international multidisciplinary consultation”. Ann Surg. 256 (6): 875–80. doi:10.1097/SLA.0b013e318256f778. PMID 22735715.
  9. Pant C, Deshpande A, Olyaee M, Anderson MP, Bitar A, Steele MI; et al. (2014). “Epidemiology of acute pancreatitis in hospitalized children in the United States from 2000-2009”. PLoS One. 9 (5): e95552. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0095552. PMC 4012949. PMID 24805879.


Template:WS Template:WH

Looking for the patient version?

Back to the patient-friendly article

© 2026 MyEClinic – IFTM Institut für Telematik in der Medizin GmbH