Current status of managing diabetes mellitus in Korea

Diabetes mellitus is an increasing global health problem. Guidelines for diabetic care recommend management of lifestyle and risk factors (glucose, blood pressure, and cholesterol), as well as regular screening for complications associated with treatment of the conditions related to diabetes. The prevalence of diabetes increased from 8.6% to 11.0% from 2001 to 2013. According to the diabetes fact sheet 2015, the proportion of patients with diabetes treated with antihypertensive medications increased from 56.0% to 62.5% from 2006 to 2013, and 49.5% of those with diabetes were being treated with lipid-lowering medications in 2013, a 1.8-fold increase since 2006. According to the 2014 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, 45.6% of patients with diabetes achieved a hemoglobin A1c level of < 7.0%, 72.8% achieved a blood pressure of < 140/85 mmHg, and 58.0% achieved a low density lipoprotein cholesterol level of < 100 mg/dL. Only 19.7% of patients with diabetes had good control of all three of these parameters. Despite improvements in health promotion efforts, the rates of adherence to medication and risk-factor control are low. Therefore, a systematic approach to managing diabetes, including self-management education, is needed to prevent or delay complications. The government needs to establish a long-term policy to address the growing burden of diabetes.