Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Feb;9(1):82-90.
doi: 10.1177/2050640620966513. Epub 2021 Feb 22.

Time trends in incidence and prevalence of chronic pancreatitis: A 25-year population-based nationwide study

Søren S Olesen  1   2 , Laust H Mortensen  3   4 , Elisabeth Zinck  3   4 , Ulrik Becker  5 , Asbjørn M Drewes  1   2 , Camilla Nøjgaard  6 , Srdan Novovic  6 , Dhiraj Yadav  7 , Janne S Tolstrup  5
Affiliations

Time trends in incidence and prevalence of chronic pancreatitis: A 25-year population-based nationwide study

Søren S Olesen et al. United European Gastroenterol J. 2021 Feb.

Abstract

Background: Updated population-based estimates on incidence and prevalence of chronic pancreatitis are scarce.

Methods: We used nationwide healthcare registries to identify all Danish patients diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis and computed crude and standardised incidence rates and prevalence estimates in 1994-2018. Incidence and prevalence were evaluated in relation to patients age and gender, aetiology (alcoholic vs. non-alcoholic) and smoking and alcohol consumption in the general Danish population.

Results: The mean incidence rate of chronic pancreatitis during the study period was 12.6 per 100,000 person years for the total population, for women it was 8.6 per 100,000 person years and for men it was 16.7 per 100,000 person years. The standardised incidence rate was stable from 1994 to 2018, remaining at 12.5 per 100,000 person years in the last observation period (2014-2018). The point prevalence of chronic pancreatitis in 2016 was 153.9 per 100,000 persons. A gradual increase in standardised prevalence estimates was observed during the study period from 126.6 in 1996 to 153.9 in 2016. The mean age at chronic pancreatitis diagnosis increased from 52.1 to 60.0 years during the study period.

Conclusion: The prevalence of chronic pancreatitis is increasing in the Danish population despite a stable incidence level. Improved management strategies and changes in the underlying patient population may explain these observations.

Keywords: alcohol; chronic pancreatitis; epidemiology; incidence; prevalence; smoking.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that there are no conflict of interests.

Study design: Søren S. Olesen, Dhiraj Yadav and Janne S. Tolstrup. Data management and statistical analysis: Laust H. Mortensen, Elisabeth Zinck and Janne S. Tolstrup. Writing committee: Søren S. Olesen and Janne S. Tolstrup. Critical revision of manuscript for important intellectual content and final approval of the manuscript: all authors.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Mean incidence rates (per 100,000 person‐years) of chronic pancreatitis in Denmark from 1994 to 2018, by gender. Solid lines represent incidence rates standardised to the age distribution in 2014–2018, dashed lines represent crude incidence rates
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Mean incidence rates (per 100,000 person‐years) of chronic pancreatitis in Denmark from 1994 to 2018, by gender and aetiology. Circles represent nonalcoholic chronic pancreatitis and squares represent alcoholic chronic pancreatitis. Incidence rates standardised to the age distribution in 2014–2018 are shown
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Prevalence (per 100,000 individuals) of chronic pancreatitis in Denmark from 1994 to 2018, by gender. Point estimates are calculated for the middle of the five periods. Solid lines represent prevalence estimates standardised to the age distribution in 2014–2018, dashed lines represent crude prevalence estimates
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Prevalence (per 100,000 individuals) of chronic pancreatitis in Denmark from 1994 to 2018, by gender and aetiology. Circles represent nonalcoholic chronic pancreatitis and squares represent alcoholic chronic pancreatitis. Prevalence estimates were calculated as point estimates for the middle of the five periods and standardised to the age distribution in 2014–2018
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Mean age at time of diagnosis of chronic pancreatitis in Denmark from 1994 to 2018, by aetiology. Circles represent nonalcoholic chronic pancreatitis and squares represent alcoholic chronic pancreatitis
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Alcohol consumption per capita and prevalence of smokers in Denmark from 1980 to 2018
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Singh VK, Yadav D, Garg PK. Diagnosis and management of chronic pancreatitis: a review. J Am Med Assoc. 2019;322:2422–34. - PubMed
    1. Tolstrup JS, Kristiansen L, Becker U, et al. Smoking and risk of acute and chronic pancreatitis among women and men: a population‐based cohort study. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169:603–9. - PubMed
    1. Yadav D, Hawes RH, Brand RE, et al. Alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and the risk of recurrent acute and chronic pancreatitis. Arch Intern Med. 2009;169:1035–45. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Olesen SS, Nøjgaard C, Poulsen JL, et al. Chronic pancreatitis is characterized by distinct complication clusters that associate with etiological risk factors. Am J Gastroenterol. 2019;114:656–64. - PubMed
    1. Olesen SS, Kuhlmann L, Novovic S, et al. Association of multiple patient and disease characteristics with the presence and type of pain in chronic pancreatitis. J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020;35:326–33. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources