Characteristics of Incident Heart Failure over 11 Years in Korea: Analysis from National Health Insurance Database

Abstract

Background We assume that the prevalence of HF in Korea as well as western country is increasing because of mainly rapid aging of the population. However, there are limited studies on the prevalence through long-term period. The purpose of this study was to analyze the epidemiology of heart failure and to better understand co-morbidities and risk factors in Korea. Methods The study used data from 2002 to 2014 of the National Health Insurance Service that covers most Korean citizens. Heart failure was defined with International Classification of Diseases 10th revision codes. Primary outcome was composite of all-cause death and re-hospitalization due to heart failure. Multivariable Cox-regression analysis was performed to find the factors affecting the primary outcome. Results The prevalence of heart failure was 1.42% in 2004 and steadily increased to 1.98% in 2014. From 2004 to 2014, 3,445,256 patients with heart failure occurred. The incidence of heart failure was 6.1/1000 person-years in 2004 and remained at similar levels, reaching 5.4/1000 person-years in 2014. In 2014, the prevalence of HF was 7.6% in subjects aged 75 years or older, while it was 7.5% and 3.6% in those aged 65-74 years and 55-64 years, respectively. The nationwide prevalence of HF in subjects aged 75 years or older increased approximately 1.3-fold, from 2002 to 2014. The factors that increase the risk of death and readmission for these patients were age, diabetes, history of MI, cerebral infarction, chronic kidney disease, and chronic liver disease. Conclusion This study is valuable in that it describes the epidemiology of heart failure using a big-sized Korean national data. Our study shows an increase in the prevalence and provides basic clinical information of HF in Korea during decades.