The Socioeconomic Burden of Coronary Heart Disease in Korea

Abstract

ObjectivesWe aimed to estimate the annual socioeconomic burden of coronary heart disease (CHD) in Korea in 2005, using the National Health Insurance (NHI) claims data.MethodsA prevalence-based, top-down, cost-of-treatment method was used to assess the direct and indirect costs of CHD (International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision codes of I20-I25), angina pectoris (I20), and myocardial infarction (MI, I21-I23) from a societal perspective.ResultsEstimated national spending on CHD in 2005 was $2.52 billion. The majority of the spending was attributable to medical costs (53.3%), followed by productivity loss due to morbidity and premature death (33.6%), transportation (8.1%), and informal caregiver costs (4.9%). While medical cost was the predominant cost attribute in treating angina (74.3% of the total cost), premature death was the largest cost attribute for patients with MI (66.9%). Annual per-capita cost of treating MI, excluding premature death cost, was $3183, which is about 2 times higher than the cost for angina ($1556).ConclusionsThe total insurance-covered medical cost ($1.13 billion) of CHD accounted for approximately 6.02% of the total annual NHI expenditure. These findings suggest that the current burden of CHD on society is tremendous and that more effective prevention strategies are required in Korea.

Achievement of the low-density lipoprotein cholesterol goal among patients with dyslipidemia in South Korea

“…This suggests unmet therapeutic needs in lowering LDL-C levels in patients with very high or high risk for CV events. Considering that CV events are related with considerable socioeconomic burden, LMT should be intensified in patients with very high or high risk [24,25].…”

Economic burden and cost determinants of coronary heart disease in rural southwest China: a multilevel analysis

“…6 Evidence from previous studies indicates that CHD places an enormous economic burden on societies in terms of both direct health care costs (related to treatment) and indirect costs (related to loss of productivity). 7,8 Furthermore, data from existing studies suggest that individual socio-economic status (SES) is closely related to health care costs. 9 Age and household income play an important role in the magnitude of the direct cost of illness, and CHD patients with lower SES are significantly less likely to use treatments that will reduce the risk of death or rehospitalization.…”

Reference Values for The Triglyceride to High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol Ratio and Non-High-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol in Korean Children and Adolescents: The Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys 2007-2013

“…The morbidity and mortality because of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (CVD) has become the leading cause of death in Korea, accounting for approximately 25% of all deaths 1) ; furthermore, the age of CVD onset now tends to be younger than in previous decades 2) . Atherosclerosis can begin in childhood, and its development has been related to cardiovascular risk factors, including dyslipidemia 3) .…”