Purpose Pancreatitis – an inflammation of pancreas – is a severe and costly disease. While many risk factors for pancreatitis are known, many cases, especially in elderly, are of unknown etiology. Methods Risk factors for acute (AP) and chronic pancreatitis (CP) were assessed in a prospective cohort (n=36,436 women, aged ≥65 years). Exposures were self-reported at baseline. Pancreatitis was ascertained by linkage to Medicare claims (1986–2004) categorized by a physician as: “AP”, 1 AP episode (n=511); or “CP”, 2+ AP or 1+ CP episodes (n=149). Results Multivariable odds ratios (OR) and 95% CI for AP and CP were calculated using multinomial logistic regression. Alcohol use was not associated with AP or CP. Heavy smoking (40+ versus 0 pack-years) was associated with a 2-fold increased OR for CP. For BMI ≥30 versus <25 kg/m2, the ORs were 1.35 (1.07–1.70) for AP (p-trend=0.009) and 0.59 (0.37–0.94) for CP (p-trend=0.01). ORs for AP and CP were increased for HRT use, heart disease, and hypertension. There were positive significant associations between protein and total fat intake for CP and AP. Conclusions We identified factors associated with AP and CP that may be specific to older women.