Epidemiology and etiology of shoulder pain based on health statistics data from Healthcare Bigdata Hub in Korea

Abstract

Background: The study investigated the current epidemiologic and etiologic trends of shoulder pain over the past 10 years in South Korea.Current Concepts: From 2011 to 2020, nationwide health statistics data of the following diseases and soft tissue damage codes related to shoulder pain were extracted from the Healthcare Bigdata Hub—M75, S43, and S46. The annual changes in total medical cost and the number of patients with the three codes were extracted. The crude and age-standardized prevalence rates, and the annual percentage change were analyzed to characterize trends in prevalence rates over time. Changes in the proportion of medical cost by age, hospital type, and outpatient/inpatient distribution were also analyzed. Among the three codes, a significant increase in total medical cost, crude and age-standardized prevalence was observed only for the code M75. Additionally, in the distribution of total medical cost for the code M75 by age, the increase in the number of patients of the age group of 60 to 69 years was remarkable. The total medical cost gradually decreased at the clinic level and showed a remarkably increasing trend at the hospital level. This pattern is consistent with those of rotator cuff disease (M751), a representative disease of shoulder lesions.Discussion and Conclusion: The age of patients with shoulder pain appears to be increasing. Considering this trend of change in health statistics on shoulder pain in Korea, socioeconomic support and improvement of health policy regarding the distribution of medical expenses and resources for shoulder pain will be more necessary in the future.