The numbers nobody talks about
India accounts for a disproportionate share of acute pancreatitis cases in Asia, and the burden is growing. A 2019 study published in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology found that tropical chronic pancreatitis, a form almost exclusive to South and Southeast Asia, affects an estimated 125 per 100,000 people in parts of Kerala and Tamil Nadu, a prevalence far higher than anything recorded in Western populations. Nationwide, alcohol-related pancreatitis has risen sharply alongside rising per-capita alcohol consumption, while gallstone-related cases remain consistently high because gallstone disease itself is extremely common among Indian women, particularly those over 40.
