S70 Trends in Pancreatitis-Related Mortality in the United States (1999 to 2024): Disparities by Sex, Race/Ethnicity, Region, and Urbanization

Introduction: Pancreatitis is a serious cause of gastrointestinal morbidity and mortality in the United States. Despite progression in management, trends in pancreatitis-related mortality varies by demographic and geographic factors remain incompletely understood. Our study examined mortality changes for pancreatitis from 1999 to 2024. Methods: Data extracted on pancreatitis-related deaths from the CDC WONDER database (1999 to 2024) in the U.S. population. Mortality rates were age-adjusted to the 2000 U.S. standard population and expressed per 100,000 persons. Analyses were stratified by sex (male, female), race/ethnicity (Non-hispanic Black or African American, Non-hispanic White, and Hispanic), region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West), and urbanization (rural vs urban). Joinpoint regression was employed to identify segments with distinct trends and estimate Annual Percent Changes. The Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC) was computed to summarize the overall trend during the study period. Results: The overall AAMR for pancreatitis decreased from 2.61 (95% CI: 2.55–2.67) in 1999 to 1.99 (95% CI: 1.95–2.04) in 2024 (AAPC: –1.14%; 95% CI: –1.36 to –0.91). Analysis showed decline in both women (2.06 to 1.55; AAPC: –1.17%) and men (3.27 to 2.50; AAPC: –1.09%). Black or African American individuals experienced the most pronounced decrease (4.64 to 2.33; AAPC: –2.81%), followed by Hispanic (2.43 to 1.41; AAPC: –2.58%). White populations showed a modest reduction (2.36 to 2.14; AAPC: –0.42%). Northeast had the largest overall decline (2.26 to 1.58; AAPC: –1.53%), whereas the Midwest, South, and West showed somewhat smaller negative AAPCs (–0.65%, –1.39%, and –0.71%, respectively). Urban–rural comparisons indicated a slight increase in rural mortality (2.72 to 2.83; AAPC: 0.03%), contrasted by a decrease in urban areas (2.58 to 2.12; AAPC: –1.03%). Conclusion: Pancreatitis-related mortality in the United States declined overall from 1999 to 2024, with varying degrees of improvement across sex, race/ethnicity, region, and urbanization categories. The relatively high mortality among Black or African American individuals in 1999 declined sharply than in other groups, while rural areas displayed a stable rate in contrast to the decline in urban areas. These findings highlights targeted public health interventions and resource allocation to address residual disparities, particularly in rural communities and subgroups with persistent or resurgent mortality rates.