"'Super-Aged Society' Korea Needs Improvement in Health Screening System for the Elderly"

8 Out of 10 Adults Say "Screening for Dementia and Other Age-Related Diseases Should Be Included"
Need to Establish Customized Screening Systems Utilizing AI for a Super-Aged Society

It has been found that 8 out of 10 adults in South Korea believe that age-related diseases such as dementia and Parkinson's disease should be included in health checkups.

Professor Lee Yujin of the Department of Psychiatry at Seoul National University Hospital is giving a presentation at the symposium "The Future and Development Directions of Health Screening in a Super-Aged Society," held on the 3rd at Lotte Hotel Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Choi Taewon

The Korean Society of Healthy Aging announced this on the 4th at 2 p.m. during a symposium titled "The Future and Development Direction of Health Checkups in a Super-Aged Society" held at Lotte Hotel Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul. Previously, in December last year, the proportion of elderly people aged 65 and over in the total population of Korea exceeded 20%. This marked the entry into a "super-aged society," where one in five citizens is elderly. Lee Kwang-bae, director of KMI Korea Medical Institute, stated, "As we enter a super-aged society, preparation for senior care and customized health checkups is not a choice but a necessity."

According to the "Public Perception Survey on Health Checkups for the Elderly" presented at the symposium, there is a national demand for screening programs for age-related diseases. This survey was conducted by the Korea Medical Biojournalists Association from February 28 to March 16, targeting 1,229 adults aged 20 and over.

According to the survey, 81.6% of all adults aged 20 and over and 88% of those aged 60 and above expressed willingness to undergo health checkups if a screening program for age-related diseases were established. Since the risk of developing dementia or Parkinson's disease increases with age, it is interpreted that the elderly have a greater awareness of the need for screening for age-related diseases.

Regarding the health checkup items supported by the National Health Insurance Service, 46.9% of all respondents answered that they are "insufficient," which was somewhat higher than the 41.8% who answered "sufficient."

There was also a call for the establishment of a customized health checkup system for the super-aged society utilizing AI and other technologies. Professor Park Sang-min of the Department of Family Medicine at Seoul National University Hospital (Director of the Public Medical Big Data Convergence Research Project Group at Seoul National University Hospital) emphasized, "Customized screening management for the elderly through medical AI is necessary."

He added, "By utilizing digital biomarkers and AI, elderly individuals can receive integrated health management services instead of hospital-centered care where they have to visit in person," explaining, "There is a need to pioneer new markets in areas such as opportunity diagnosis AI solutions that enable asymptomatic early diagnosis."