Odainn
Digestive system & liver

Who dies of other digestive disease?

In the median of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age, 2.7% of men and 3.0% of women eventually die of other digestive disease. It is never the most likely cause of death for any one country, sex and age group — but it adds up over a lifetime.

The risk by age

Chance of dying of other digestive disease within 10 years, and its share of all the risk at that age — the median of 36 countries. Your own country's numbers are one click away on its page.

Agemenwomen
15–19<0.01% (1.1% of the risk)<0.01% (1.5% of the risk)
20–240.01% (1.5% of the risk)<0.01% (1.9% of the risk)
25–290.02% (1.9% of the risk)<0.01% (2.4% of the risk)
30–340.03% (2.7% of the risk)0.01% (2.4% of the risk)
35–390.04% (2.8% of the risk)0.02% (2.7% of the risk)
40–440.08% (3.0% of the risk)0.04% (2.9% of the risk)
45–490.12% (3.2% of the risk)0.06% (2.7% of the risk)
50–540.20% (3.0% of the risk)0.10% (2.8% of the risk)
55–590.30% (2.9% of the risk)0.16% (2.9% of the risk)
60–640.43% (2.8% of the risk)0.26% (3.1% of the risk)
65–690.62% (2.7% of the risk)0.45% (3.1% of the risk)
70–740.96% (2.6% of the risk)0.79% (3.1% of the risk)
75–791.4% (2.6% of the risk)1.3% (3.1% of the risk)
80–842.0% (2.6% of the risk)2.0% (3.2% of the risk)
85–892.2% (2.5% of the risk)2.5% (3.0% of the risk)
90–942.3% (2.4% of the risk)2.5% (2.7% of the risk)

Lifetime chance, men: highest and lowest countries

  1. Spain4.2%
  2. Portugal3.8%
  3. United Kingdom3.7%
  4. Belgium3.5%
  5. France3.4%
  6. Switzerland3.2%
  7. Canada3.1%
  8. Lithuania3.1%
  9. Moldova3.1%
  10. Poland3.1%
  11. Malta2.1%
  12. Austria1.9%
  13. Türkiye1.7%

Lifetime chance, women: highest and lowest countries

  1. Spain4.9%
  2. United Kingdom4.4%
  3. Belgium4.0%
  4. Portugal3.9%
  5. Canada3.8%
  6. France3.8%
  7. Switzerland3.8%
  8. Denmark3.3%
  9. Germany3.2%
  10. Ireland3.2%
  11. Estonia2.1%
  12. Finland2.0%
  13. Türkiye2.0%

What changes the odds

This group includes pancreatitis, gallstones, ulcers, bowel blockages and hernias. Keeping alcohol low and a healthy weight prevent some of them. Vomiting blood, black and sticky poo, or severe tummy pain need urgent help — call your emergency number.

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Related: Liver disease (incl. alcohol-related)

Questions

At what age is other digestive disease most likely to be the cause of death?
For men, other digestive disease takes its largest share of deaths at 45–49: 3.2% of the risk of dying in the next 10 years, in the median of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age.
Which country has the highest risk of dying of other digestive disease?
Of the 36 countries that publish causes of death by age, Spain has the highest lifetime chance of dying of other digestive disease for men (4.2%), and Türkiye the lowest (1.7%).
What raises the risk of dying of other digestive disease?
In large cohort studies, people who smoke died of it about 2.6 times as often as people who never smoked (Carter 2015).

Computed by Odainn from official mortality statistics (Eurostat; ONS, NRS and NISRA; CDC; Statistics Canada) for 36 countries, latest years — how we calculate. Belarus is left out: deaths by cause and age aren't published together there, so the split by cause is our estimate. Population statistics, not a prediction for any individual. Educational, not medical advice.