One in ten South Koreans aged 30 and over has been diagnosed with diabetes. The number of diabetes patients has been steadily increasing due to changes in lifestyle habits.
On the 4th, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) announced the rates of diabetes diagnosis experience by local governments to raise awareness about the steadily increasing diabetes and to urge prevention and management. The diabetes diagnosis experience rate refers to the proportion of people aged 30 and over who have been diagnosed with diabetes by a doctor.
The diabetes diagnosis experience rate among South Koreans aged 30 and over was 9.1% last year. This is an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the previous year (8.8%). The diabetes diagnosis experience rate has steadily risen over the past 10 years, increasing by about 2 percentage points. Diabetes is influenced not only by genetic factors but also by environmental factors and lifestyle habits such as obesity, stress, lack of exercise, alcohol consumption, and smoking.
The treatment rate for people with a history of diabetes diagnosis was 91.8% last year. This means that 9 out of 10 people diagnosed with diabetes are receiving treatment. Ten years ago, in 2013, the treatment rate was only 86.4%, indicating a steady increase in awareness of the need for treatment.
The local districts with the lowest treatment rates among those diagnosed with diabetes were Yongsan-gu, Seoul (59.5%), Daedeok-gu, Daejeon (66.4%), and Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul (68.7%). On the other hand, the highest treatment rates were in Gangseo-gu, Busan (96.7%), Namdong-gu, Incheon, and Seongju-gun, Gyeongbuk (96.6%). The difference in treatment rates between Yongsan-gu, Seoul, which had the lowest rate, and Gangseo-gu, Busan, which had the highest, was 37.2 percentage points.
Ji Young-mi, director of the KDCA, stated, “The diabetes diagnosis experience data from the Community Health Survey is a survey-based substitute for prevalence data and has limitations such as overestimation or underestimation, but the steady increase calls for vigilance.”
She added, “Diabetes ranks as the eighth leading cause of death in South Korea and is one of the diseases with a high burden due to premature death and disability. It is a dangerous disease that causes complications, so local governments need to strengthen education and publicity for diabetes prevention and management among residents.”
The KDCA also announced that it is conducting in-depth research surveys on diabetes prevention and management in collaboration with several local governments, including Nam-gu, Gwangju, and Sacheon-si, Gyeongnam.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
