Take the Tummy Trouble Quiz Digestive Disease Myths Slideshow Pictures Heartburn? Foods to Eat, Foods to Avoid Slideshow

Medical Author:

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Jerry R. Balentine, DO, FACEP

Dr. Balentine received his undergraduate degree from McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. He attended medical school at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine graduating in1983. He completed his internship at St. Joseph's Hospital in Philadelphia and his Emergency Medicine residency at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx, where he served as chief resident.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Pancreatitis Causes

Alcohol abuse and gallstones are the two main causes of pancreatitis, accounting for 80% to 90% of all cases.

Pancreatitis from alcohol use usually occurs in individuals who have been long-term alcohol drinkers for at least five to seven years. Most cases of chronic pancreatitis are due to alcohol abuse. Pancreatitis is often already chronic by the first time the person seeks medical attention (usually for severe pain).

Gallstones form from a buildup of material within the gallbladder, another organ in the abdomen (please see previous illustration). A gallstone can block the pancreatic duct, trapping digestive juices inside the pancreas. Pancreatitis due to gallstones tends to occur most often in women older than 50 years of age.

The remaining 10% to 20% of cases of pancreatitis have various causes, including the following:

• medications,
  
  
• exposure to certain chemicals,
  
  
• injury (trauma), as might happen in a car accident or bad fall leading to abdominal trauma,
  
  
• hereditary disease,
  
  
• surgery and certain medical procedures,
  
  
• infections such as mumps (not common),
  
  
• abnormalities of the pancreas or intestine, or
  
  
• high fat levels in the blood.

In about 15% of cases of acute pancreatitis and 40% of cases of chronic pancreatitis, the cause is never known.