A Review of Studies Using Japanese Nationwide Administrative Claims Databases

Administrative claims databases are increasingly being used worldwide for research purposes. We reviewed original published articles that used one of the four nationwide administrative claims databases in Japan: the National Database of Health Insurance Claims and Specific Health Checkups (NDB), NDB Open Data, the JMDC Claims Database, and the Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC) database.

Studies published from January 2010 to July 2022 using the JMDC and DPC databases, and from January 2013 to July 2022 using the NDB and NDB Open Data were identified using PubMed. The number of original articles was divided into 19 fields. The annual growth rate of the number of studies was calculated using the four databases.

Overall, 1047 studies were included (95 for the NDB, 31 for the NDB Open Data, 222 for the JMDC database, and 699 for the DPC databases). Studies using one of these four databases increased from around 2010, and the average annual growth rate was approximately 41% from 2010 to 2021. DPC database studies had a higher proportion of articles on surgery (19.2%), urology (3.0%), neurosurgery (6.2%), anesthesiology (1.9%), and emergency medicine (14.0%), whereas the NDB and JMDC data had higher proportions of those regarding internal medicine.

Since 2010, these four databases have increasingly attracted attention, and the number of studies using them has grown rapidly. Our review suggests that each has unique features, and researchers should understand the database characteristics to operate their studies.