The evolving landscape of chronic pancreatitis in Japan: findings from a nationwide epidemiological survey in 2021

BACKGROUND: To reassess the clinico-epidemiological characteristics of chronic pancreatitis (CP) in Japan, we conducted a nationwide epidemiological survey. METHODS: A two-stage nationwide survey was performed targeting patients with CP treated at participating hospitals in 2021. The first-stage survey estimated the number of patients, and the second-stage survey collected detailed clinical information. RESULTS: The estimated number of patients with definite or probable CP in 2021 was 73,590 (prevalence, 58.6 per 100,000 population), representing a 30% increase from 2016. The estimated number of newly diagnosed patients was 17,490, corresponding to an annual incidence of 13.9 per 100,000 population. Detailed clinical data were available for 4633 patients. The male-to-female ratio was 4.15:1, the mean age in 2021 was 64.4 years, and the mean age at diagnosis was 58.7 years. Alcohol was the leading etiology (69.6%), followed by idiopathic CP (24.3%). Notably, alcohol-related CP accounted for 39.5% of female cases. Diabetes mellitus and pancreatic exocrine insufficiency were present in 45.8% and 36.6% of patients, respectively. Endoscopic treatment was the initial intervention in 92.8% of patients undergoing treatment for pancreatic stones and/or pancreatic duct strictures. Malignancies were identified up to the time of the survey in 18.0% of patients, including pancreatic cancer in 89 patients. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of CP in Japan continues to increase. The aging CP population, the increasing proportion of alcohol-related CP among women, and the substantial burden of diabetes, exocrine insufficiency, and malignancy underscore the growing healthcare impact of CP and the need for effective prevention and long-term management strategies.

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Journal
Journal of Gastroenterology
Published
2026-09-11
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00535-026-02518-x
Primary Topic
Pancreatitis Pathology and Treatment
Type
article
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article

The evolving landscape of chronic pancreatitis in Japan: findings from a nationwide epidemiological survey in 2021

Junji Kawaguchi, Morihisa Hirota, Osamu Kido, Shunsuke Komoto et al.
Journal of Gastroenterology
Pancreatitis Pathology and Treatment
article

The evolving landscape of chronic pancreatitis in Japan: findings from a nationwide epidemiological survey in 2021

Junji Kawaguchi, Morihisa Hirota, Osamu Kido, Shunsuke Komoto, Yudai Koya, Yui Kishimoto, Toshinobu Izumi, Takahiro Abe, Takuo Kado, Takaaki Eguchi, Makoto Abue, Yuko Fujimoto, Hiroyuki Funayama, Akira Kanamori, Naruomi Jinno, Masaki Kuwatani, Takuya Komura, Naoko Hyodo, Nao Fujimori, Takahiro Dohmen, Sadaharu Iio, Hideaki Hamano, Takuya Kuwashiro, Takashi Hisamatsu, Toyoma Kaku, Kôji Kubota, Akihito Iida, Jun Ishii, Naoki Konno, Atsushi Masamune, Yasutoshi Kimura, Shohei Asada, Ryotaro Matsumoto, Keiko Kaneko, Michio Kuroki, Akihisa Fukuda, Yasuki Hori, Shinya Kawaguchi, Shunjiro Azuma, Hirotaka Kitamura, Masatoshi Kajiwara, Seiji Kaino, Ikuhiro Kobori, Takanori Kitaguchi, Osamu Inatomi, Kazuhiro Kikuta, Fumiya Kataoka, Tetsuya Takikawa, Yuki Kawaji, Masataka Fukue, Junji Iwasaki, Tomoyuki Aihara, Nobuo Ashizawa, Junichi Fujiwara, Hideaki Kurihara, Kazunari Ibusuki, Y. Abe, Kazunao Hayashi, Tomoko Inagaki, Yasushi Hamaya, Haruo Fujinaga, Yuichi Tanaka, Mitsuhito Koizumi, Keisuke Iwata, Hiroyuki Endo, Hiroyoshi Doi, Tomoyuki Iwata, Tatsuya Hoshi, Takamitsu Komaki, Yutaro Kikuchi, Toru Kawamoto, Yoshihisa Fukuda, Takao Iemoto, Kiyotaka Hashizume, Hitoshi Kurata, Tsunao Imamura, Takeshi Iida, Yoshifumi Takeyama, Shin-ichiro Hagiwara, Shuhei Agawa, Naoya Imamura, Atsushi Kanno, Takumi Akiyama, Yuzo Kodama, Masaharu Ishida, Kazuki Hayashi, Yasuhisa Sekino, Yu Tanaka, Japan Pancreatitis Study Group, Kasenn Kobashigawa, Aoi Hayasaki, Kenji Kawaguchi, Yoji Kishi, Hideki Itagaki, Kentaro Funatsu, Takanori Sano, Shin Kato, Atsushi Irisawa, Hiroshi Kawakami, Eisuke Iwasaki
article en

Abstract

BACKGROUND: To reassess the clinico-epidemiological characteristics of chronic pancreatitis (CP) in Japan, we conducted a nationwide epidemiological survey. METHODS: A two-stage nationwide survey was performed targeting patients with CP treated at participating hospitals in 2021. The first-stage survey estimated the number of patients, and the second-stage survey collected detailed clinical information. RESULTS: The estimated number of patients with definite or probable CP in 2021 was 73,590 (prevalence, 58.6 per 100,000 population), representing a 30% increase from 2016. The estimated number of newly diagnosed patients was 17,490, corresponding to an annual incidence of 13.9 per 100,000 population. Detailed clinical data were available for 4633 patients. The male-to-female ratio was 4.15:1, the mean age in 2021 was 64.4 years, and the mean age at diagnosis was 58.7 years. Alcohol was the leading etiology (69.6%), followed by idiopathic CP (24.3%). Notably, alcohol-related CP accounted for 39.5% of female cases. Diabetes mellitus and pancreatic exocrine insufficiency were present in 45.8% and 36.6% of patients, respectively. Endoscopic treatment was the initial intervention in 92.8% of patients undergoing treatment for pancreatic stones and/or pancreatic duct strictures. Malignancies were identified up to the time of the survey in 18.0% of patients, including pancreatic cancer in 89 patients. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of CP in Japan continues to increase. The aging CP population, the increasing proportion of alcohol-related CP among women, and the substantial burden of diabetes, exocrine insufficiency, and malignancy underscore the growing healthcare impact of CP and the need for effective prevention and long-term management strategies.

Journal of Gastroenterology
Tohoku University (JP), Osaka Neurological Institute (JP)
Good health and well-being
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
Pancreatitis Pathology and Treatment
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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