Disease Burden In Korea Research Articles

Changes of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease Burden in Korea, 2005–2014: Analysis of the National Health Insurance Database

Changes of Invasive Pneumococcal Disease Burden in Korea, 2005–2014: Analysis of the National Health Insurance Database

Estimation of national and subnational environmental burden of disease, Republic of Korea

Introduction: In Korea, first estimation of environmental burden of disease was first conducted on 2009. This study aimed to estimate the environmental burden of disease in Korea while adopting the updated method of assessment and data sources on both national and local level. Methods: Environmental risk factors responsible for the main health outcomes were selected based on the known public health impacts, exposure prevalence, level of individual risk, and public concern: environmental asbestos exposure, radon, second hand smoking, radiation, environmental chemical exposure, and particulate matter. Burden of disease for specific cancers were estimated based on the global burden of disease 2010 method, using National Health Insurance dataset, national mortality dataset and National Cancer Registry dataset. Depending on the type of exposure-response function available, either relative risk or unit risk was estimated based on the systematic review of literature, both domestic and global. Population attributable fractions of specific environmental factors on health outcome were estimated based on the sources on the national exposure population assessment for each risk factor. Based on the local exposure, demographic, and health data, disability-adjusted life years (DALY) was estimated for local areas whenever possible. Results: DALYs were estimated from years of life lost (YLL) and years with disability (YLD) for ambient and indoor air pollution, water and sanitation, climate disasters, occupation, environmental disasters, second hand smoking, radon, ultraviolet radiation, and metals. Conclusions: This study presents a comprehensive feature of environmental risk of health outcomes both nationwide and at local level. This study provides strong evidence to booster environmental health policies to control and of environmental risk factors as a high priority.

Burden of Respiratory Disease in Korea: An Observational Study on Allergic Rhinitis, Asthma, COPD, and Rhinosinusitis.

PurposeThe Asia-Pacific Burden of Respiratory Diseases (APBORD) study is a cross-sectional, observational one which has used a standard protocol to examine the disease and economic burden of allergic rhinitis (AR), asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD), and rhinosinusitis across the Asia-Pacific region. Here, we report on symptoms, healthcare resource use, work impairment, and associated costs in Korea.MethodsConsecutive participants aged ≥18 years with a primary diagnosis of asthma, AR, COPD, or rhinosinusitis were enrolled. Participants and their treating physician completed a survey detailing respiratory symptoms, healthcare resource use, and work productivity and activity impairment. Costs included direct medical cost and indirect cost associated with lost work productivity.ResultsThe study enrolled 999 patients. Patients were often diagnosed with multiple respiratory disorders (42.8%), with asthma/AR and AR/rhinosinusitis the most frequently diagnosed combinations. Cough or coughing up phlegm was the primary reason for the medical visit in patients with a primary diagnosis of asthma and COPD, whereas nasal symptoms (watery runny nose, blocked nose, and congestion) were the main reasons in those with AR and rhinosinusitis. The mean annual cost for patients with a respiratory disease was US$8,853 (SD 11,245) per patient. Lost productivity due to presenteeism was the biggest contributor to costs.ConclusionsRespiratory disease has a significant impact on disease burden in Korea. Treatment strategies for preventing lost work productivity could greatly reduce the economic burden of respiratory disease.

The Non-Communicable Disease Burden in Korea: Findings from the 2012 Korean Burden of Disease Study.

In recognition of Korea's rising burden of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), we investigated the nation's NCD status and extracted detailed information from the 2012 Korean Burden of Disease study. Consistent with that study, we used disability-adjusted life year (DALY) as a metric. Using national data sources and disability weights specific to the Korean population, we analyzed 116 disaggregated NCDs from the study's four-level disease and injury hierarchy for both sexes and nine age groups. Per 100,000 population, 21,019 DALYs were lost to 116 NCDs. Of those, 13.97% were due to premature death (death prior to the standard life expectancy for a subject's age) and 86.03% to non-fatal health outcomes. Based on traditional statistics, the main causes of health loss were mortality of neoplasms; cardiovascular and circulatory diseases; diabetes, urogenital, blood, and endocrine diseases; and chronic respiratory diseases. When combined with analyses of premature death and non-fatal outcomes, however, a substantially different view emerged: the main causes of health loss were diabetes mellitus, low back pain, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischemic heart disease, ischemic stroke, cirrhosis of the liver, osteoarthritis, asthma, gastritis and duodenitis, and periodontal disease (in that order), collectively causing 49.20% of DALYs. Thus, burden of disease data using DALYs rather than traditional statistics brings a new perspective to characterization of the population's health that provides practical information useful for developing and targeting national NCD control programs to better meet national needs.

Burden of disease in Korea during 2000-10

This study estimates the burden of disease in Korea during 2000-10, using disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). DALYs are the sum of years of life lost from mortality and years of life lost from disability. DALYs for 24 major diseases in 2000, 2005 and 2010 Korea were calculated based on the Global Burden of Disease Study method. As in other advanced nations, the burden of disease in Korea is characterized by an increasing importance of cancer, unipolar depression and ischemic heart disease (1681, 1508 and 562 person-years for Year 2010 in terms of DALYs per 10 0000, respectively). At the same time, unipolar depression, liver cirrhosis and mental and behavioral disorder due to alcohol use (1508, 323 and 535 person-years for 2010, respectively) became much more common in Korea than in other advanced nations. The burden of disease in Korea follows the pattern of other advanced nations in general but also registers some unique characteristics affected by the nation's distinctive epidemiological and sociocultural contexts, e.g. rapid economic growth and dramatic social transition without appropriate policy response. Korea's health and welfare policy might need to incorporate these special conditions for the effective reduction of its disease burden.

Prevention of Neonatal Group B Streptococcal Disease

Prevention of Neonatal Group B Streptococcal Disease

Prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease in Korea and associated health‐care utilization: A national population‐based study

Few studies have reported temporal trends in the prevalence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and associated health-care utilization in Asia. The aim of this study was to investigate temporal changes in the prevalence of GERD and associated health-care utilization. Patients with a primary or secondary disease code for GERD, according to the Korean Standard Classification of Diseases, were defined as having "doctor-diagnosed GERD". The prevalence of GERD from 2005 to 2008 was evaluated using Korean National Health Insurance claim data. Claims for proton pump inhibitors (PPI) over this period were also evaluated. Complications of GERD and health-care utilization characteristics, such as the use of diagnostic tests and prescriptions, were investigated. The prevalence of doctor-diagnosed GERD increased rapidly from 4.6% to 7.3% between 2005 and 2008. Over the same period, the amount of PPI claims increased by 56%. People aged 30-39 years and females had a high frequency of GERD-related visits. Esophageal stricture was rare, and 23% of patients with GERD had peptic ulcers. Endoscopy was used as a diagnostic test in 34% of cases. Seventy-seven percent of patients with GERD were treated with PPI or H(2) receptor antagonists. The prevalence of GERD increased rapidly from 2005 to 2008. The rapid increase of PPI use reflects the real increase in the prevalence of GERD and demand for health care. Middle-aged people and women had a high frequency of GERD visits. Therefore, GERD might be a significant disease burden in Korea.

Burden of Disease Due to Outdoor Air Pollution in Korea: Based on PM10

Purpose: This study measured the burden of disease in Korea related to outdoor air pollution using disability-adjusted life year (DALY). Materials and Methods: As a risk factor of outdoor air pollution, particulate matter with a diameter less than 10 <TEX>${\mu}m$</TEX>(<TEX>$PM_{10}$</TEX>) was used. First, <TEX>$PM_{10}$</TEX>-related diseases and their relative risk (RR) were selected by means of a literature review. Second, population attributable fractions were computed by using formulae including RR and population exposure to <TEX>$PM_{10}$</TEX>. Third, DALYs of <TEX>$PM_{10}$</TEX>-related diseases in Korea were estimated. Finally, the attributable burden of disease due to <TEX>$PM_{10}$</TEX> was measured as the sum of the products that multiplied the DALYs of <TEX>$PM_{10}$</TEX>-related diseases by their population attributable fractions. Results: The disease burden of PM10 was 6.9 DALY per 1,000 persons in 2007. The attributable burden of <TEX>$PM_{10}$</TEX> was 2.68 for lung cancer, 2.41 for COPD, 0.62 for ischemic heart disease, 0.61 for pneumonia, 0.55 for asthma, and 0.03 for preterm. Conclusions: This study showed the environmental burden of disease of <TEX>$PM_{10}$</TEX> and burden of <TEX>$PM_{10}$</TEX>-related disease through objective data. It also suggested that active efforts are needed to continuously measure and reduce the burden of environmental diseases in Korea.

The burden of disease in Korea

T disability adjusted life year (DALY), a single indicator of the burden of disease, is widely used to measure the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors. In this study, we review the relative sizes of the burden of disease worldwide and the characteristics of the burden of disease of the Korean population. Future research directions for study of the burden of disease in Korea are also suggested. In the Korean population, diabetes mellitus was the leading cause of the burden of disease (970 DALYs per 100,000 population) in 2002, followed by cerebrovascular disease (937 DALYs per 100,000 population) and asthma (709 DALYs per 100,000 population), which differed with the leading causes of the burden of disease globally: unipolar depressive disorder, ischemic heart disease, and cerebrovascular disease. In 2007, cirrhosis of the liver in males and cerebrovascular disease in females became the leading causes of the burden of disease of the Korean population with the epidemiologic transition. Despite the methodological difference with global burden of disease study, these findings represent the characteristics of the burden of disease in Korea. Though many studies have been conducted to measure the burden of disease in Korea, there is a need to go beyond these to combine policymaking for resource allocation, such as cost effectiveness analysis, with burden of disease studies.

Measuring the Burden of Disease in Korea

This paper provides an overview of the Korean Burden of Disease (KBoD) study, which was the first such study to assess the national burden of disease using disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) in an advanced Asian country. The KBoD study generally followed the approach utilized in the original Global Burden of Disease study (GBD), with the exception of the disease classification and epidemiological data estimation methods used, and the relative weightings of disabilities. The results of the present study reveal that the burden of disease per 100,000 of the Korean population originates primarily from; cancer (1,525 Person Years, PYs), cardiovascular disease (1,492 PYs), digestive disease (1,140 PYs), diabetes mellitus (990 PYs), and certain neuro-psychiatric conditions (883 PYs). These results are largely consistent with those of developed countries, but also represent uniquely Korean characteristics.

Economic burden of atherosclerosis-related diseases in Korea

Economic burden of atherosclerosis-related diseases in Korea

Estimation of the burden of major cancers in Korea.

We estimated the burden of diseases in Korea especially caused by major cancers using DALY (disability adjusted life year) measurement. Firstly, the burden of disease due to premature death was estimated by using YLLs (years life lost due to premature death) measurement developed by the global burden of disease study group. Secondly, for the calculation of the YLD (years lived with disability), the following parameters were estimated in the formula; incidence rate, case fatality rate and disability weight of major cancers. Thirdly, we estimated DALY of major cancers by adding YLLs and YLDs. The burden of major cancers for male per 100,000 population was attributed mainly to liver cancer (528.8 person-year), stomach cancer (451.4 person-year), and lung cancer (374.9 person-year). The burden of major cancers for female per 100,000 population was attributed mainly to liver cancer (140.0 person-year), stomach cancer (259.7 person-year), and lung cancer (125.2 person-year). Each of these cancers was responsible for the loss of over 100 person-year per 100,000 population based on our DALY measurement. We found the DALY method employed was appropriate to quantify the burden of disease. Thereby, it would provide a rational bases to plan a national health policy regarding the burden of disease caused by major cancers in Korea.