1472Spatial clusters and affecting factors on Alzheimer's disease death in South Korea

Abstract

Abstract Background The prevalence of dementia is increasing worldwide; and dementia deaths are also increasing. In South Korea, deaths from Alzheimer's disease (AD) ranked 9th in the 2018 cause of death statistics, and the ranking has risen. Methods We collected 2009 to 2018 AD deaths and related data from Statistics Korea and Community Health Survey. SaTScan software was used for detecting and evaluating the clusters with high risk in AD deaths, and R version 4.0.3 was used for mapping and analysis of affecting factors. Results A total of 39,412 people died from AD during 10 years in Korea, 7.7 per 100,000 inhabitants. While 98.7% of deaths were above-65 age, the proportion of under 65 was also rising. The global Moran index of 10 years’ AD deaths was 0.2 (P < 0.01), and the clusters were detected primarily in southern rural region. According to the spatial regression analysis, AD deaths in 2018 were increased in area with lower dementia screening rate, long-term care workers, and higher home-care service usage rate in long-term care, inhabitants educated about dementia. Conclusions Some clusters of AD deaths were identified, and they were influenced by institutional factors. It is necessary that the local government considers characteristics of each region when implementing the dementia policies. Key messages AD deaths in South Korea were increasing from 2009 to 2018, and their clusters were observed in southern regions. AD deaths in 2018 were influenced by dementia-related policies.