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Korea Heart Disease Fact Sheet 2020: Analysis of Nationwide Data
Hyeok Hee Lee1,2, So Mi Jemma Cho1, Hokyou Lee1,2
1Department of Preventive Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Insights
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden is rising in Korea, with increasing mortality and hospitalizations. A high prevalence of risk factors, especially in older adults, necessitates urgent, sustained prevention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Cardiology
Background:
- Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading global cause of death and disability.
- The Korean Society of Cardiology published the 2020 Korea Heart Disease Fact Sheet to analyze CVD trends.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide an overview of temporal trends in the burden of cardiovascular disease in Korea.
- To assess mortality, hospitalizations, and risk factors associated with CVD.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of anonymized data from Causes of Death Statistics.
- Utilized National Health Insurance Claims Database and Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
- Assessed mortality, hospitalizations, and prevalence of CVD risk factors.
Main Results:
- CVD mortality decreased until 2010, then increased to 123 per 100,000 persons by 2018.
- CVD hospitalizations have shown a continuous rise since 2002.
- In 2018, high prevalence of risk factors was observed: hypertension (12.1M), diabetes (4.3M), hypercholesterolemia (8.7M), obesity (14.9M), and current smoking (8.8M).
- Prevalence of multiple risk factors increased with age, with 58.4% of adults aged ≥70 having ≥2 risk factors.
Conclusions:
- CVD mortality and hospitalization rates have progressively increased over the past decade.
- A significant proportion of Korean adults had multiple cardiovascular risk factors in 2018.
- Rapid population aging in Korea suggests an inevitable increase in CVD burden, demanding concerted prevention efforts.
Background And Objectives:
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. To provide an overview of the temporal trends in the burden of CVD, the Korean Society of Cardiology has published the Korea Heart Disease Fact Sheet in 2020.
Methods:
We analyzed anonymized data of the Causes of Death Statistics, National Health Insurance Claims Database, and Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to assess mortality, hospitalizations, and risk factors for CVD.
Results:
The CVD mortality decreased until 2010, then steadily increased up to 123 per 100,000 persons in 2018. Since 2002, the number and rate of CVD hospitalization have continued to grow. In 2018, approximately 12.1 million Korean adults had hypertension, 4.3 million had diabetes, 8.7 million had hypercholesterolemia, 14.9 million had obesity, and 8.8 million were currently smoking. The number of risk factors increased markedly with older age; 58.4% of adults age ≥70 years had ≥2 risk factors.
Conclusions:
CVD mortality and hospitalization have gradually increased in the last decade, and a substantially high proportion of adults were carrying more than 1 cardiovascular risk factor in 2018. With the rapid population aging, a continued increase in CVD appears inevitable in Korea. Concerted and sustained approaches are essential to achieve early prevention and reduce the burden of CVD.
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