Abstract
Tuberculosis (TB) incidence and corresponding mortality rates in S. Korea are unusual and unique compared to other economically developed countries. Korea has the highest TB incidence rate in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. TB is known as a disease reflecting socio-economic and environmental conditions of a society. Besides, TB is an infectious disease spread through the air, naturally forming spatial dependence of its incidence. This study investigates TB incidences in Korea in socio-economic and environmental perspectives. Eigenvector spatial filtering applied accounts for spatial autocorrelation in the TB incidence, and Getis-Ord statistic tracks the changes of TB clusters at given time. The results show that population composition ratio, population growth rate, health insurance payment, and public health variables are significant throughout the study period. Environmental variables make minor effects on TB incidence. This study argues that unique demographic features of Korea are a potential threat to TB control in the future.
Highlights
Tuberculosis (TB) incidence and corresponding mortalities are at a dangerous level in South Korea
Seeing that TB incidences are frequently observed in economically underdeveloped countries [2], TB occurrences reflect the socio-economic status of the countries [3–5]
The results show that TB incidences are significantly influenced by socio-economic and environmental variables such as population composition ratio, population growth rate, health insurance payment, and public health throughout the study period from 2008 to 2016
Summary
Tuberculosis (TB) incidence and corresponding mortalities are at a dangerous level in South Korea. TB incidence rate in Korea is the highest in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries [1]. Most OECD members are regarded as developed countries with high-income economies. Seeing that TB incidences are frequently observed in economically underdeveloped countries [2], TB occurrences reflect the socio-economic status of the countries [3–5]. Korea is categorized as one of the highly developed countries, being ranked 12th in GDP [6] and 15th in national competitiveness in 2018 [7]. In healthcare resources, Korea is in the world’s top-class [8]. Given her social and economic development, it is only natural to expect very low TB incidence rate in Korea
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