Patients with 'Sumyeonjang-ae' increased by 24% in 5 years... Annual medical expenses reach 320 billion KRW

Office of Rep. Nam In-soon: 70% of Patients Last Year Were Aged 50 and Above, Middle and Older Adults

Last year, the number of patients treated for sleep disorders reached approximately 1.24 million, with total medical expenses amounting to 322.7 billion KRW.

According to data submitted by the National Health Insurance Service to Nam In-soon, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, the number of patients treated for sleep disorders (disease classification code F51) and non-organic sleep disorders (G47) in 2023 was 1,240,597, with total medical expenses totaling 322.7 billion KRW. This figure includes symptoms such as difficulty sleeping due to emotional reasons, nightmares, sleepwalking, somnambulism, insomnia, sleep apnea, hypersomnia, and others.

The number of patients treated for sleep disorders increased by 24% (241,801 people) compared to 998,796 in 2019, and medical expenses surged by 55% (115.1 billion KRW) compared to 207.6 billion KRW during the same period.

The number of sleep disorder patients in Korea has steadily increased from 998,796 in 2019 to 1,037,395 in 2020, 1,099,633 in 2021, 1,164,118 in 2022, and 1,240,597 in 2023.

Last year, the distribution of sleep disorder patients by age was as follows: under 10 years old, 2,494; teens, 8,757; 20s, 64,782; 30s, 118,677; 40s, 178,081; 50s, 233,817; 60s, 285,282; 70s, 208,497; and 80 and above, 140,210.

By gender, females accounted for 55.2% (684,544) of the total, outnumbering males who made up 44.8% (556,053).

In 2023, 70% of the patients were aged 50 and above, totaling 867,806, of whom 58% (503,304) were female.

Experts explain that sleep is important not only for learning and memory but also for physical health and is closely related to dementia prevention.

Representative Nam said, "As the number of patients receiving treatment for sleep disorders increases every year, the patient count has surpassed 1.2 million and total medical expenses have exceeded 320 billion KRW, signaling a red alert for the nation's sleep health," urging, "It is necessary to raise awareness of the importance of sleep health and to analyze the increase in sleep disorders and prepare countermeasures."