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. 2019 Aug;43(4):487-494.
doi: 10.4093/dmj.2019.0067. Epub 2019 Jul 17.

Diabetes Fact Sheets in Korea, 2018: An Appraisal of Current Status

Bo Yeon Kim  1 , Jong Chul Won  2 , Jae Hyuk Lee  3 , Hun Sung Kim  4 , Jung Hwan Park  5 , Kyoung Hwa Ha  6 , Kyu Chang Won  7 , Dae Jung Kim  8 , Kyong Soo Park  9
Affiliations

Diabetes Fact Sheets in Korea, 2018: An Appraisal of Current Status

Bo Yeon Kim et al. Diabetes Metab J. 2019 Aug.

Abstract

Background: The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence, management, and comorbidities of diabetes among Korean adults aged 30 years and older.

Methods: This study used 2013 to 2016 data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally-representative survey of the Korean population. Diabetes was defined as fasting glucose ≥126 mg/dL, current use of antidiabetic medication, a previous history of diabetes, or glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) ≥6.5%.

Results: In 2016, 14.4% (approximately 5.02 million) of Korean adults had diabetes. The prevalence of impaired fasting glucose was 25.3% (8.71 million). From 2013 to 2016, the awareness, control, and treatment rates for diabetes were 62.6%, 56.7%, and 25.1%, respectively. People with diabetes had the following comorbidities: obesity (50.4%), abdominal obesity (47.8%), hypertension (55.3%), and hypercholesterolemia (34.9%). The 25.1%, 68.4%, and 44.2% of people with diabetes achieved HbA1c <6.5%, blood pressure <140/85 mm Hg, and low density lipoprotein cholesterol <100 mg/dL. Only 8.4% of people with diabetes had good control of all three targets.

Conclusion: This study confirms that diabetes is as an important public health problem. Efforts should be made to increase awareness, detection, and comprehensive management of diabetes to reduce diabetes-related morbidity and mortality.

Keywords: Comorbidity; Diabetes mellitus; Hypercholesterolemia; Hypertension; Nutrition surveys; Obesity; Prevalence; Public health; Republic of Korea.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Estimated prevalence of adults (≥30 years old) with (A) diabetes and (B) impaired fasting glucose (household income: from the lowest to the highest quintiles [Q]).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Management of (A) diabetes and (B) type of treatment (awareness rate: rate of people diagnosed with diabetes by a doctor among people with diabetes [%]; treatment rate: rate of people treated with oral hypoglycemic agents, and/or insulin therapy among people with diabetes [%]; control rate: rate of people of glycosylated hemoglobin <6.5% among people with diabetes).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Glycemic control rate in diabetes. HbA1c, glycosylated hemoglobin.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. Estimated prevalence of comorbidities in diabetes (obesity: body mass index [kg/m2] ≥25.0; abdominal obesity: men ≥90 cm, women ≥85 cm; hypertension: systolic blood pressure ≥140 mm Hg or diastolic blood pressure ≥90 mm Hg and/or antihypertensive medications; hypercholesterolemia: total cholesterol ≥240 mg/dL and/or lipid-lowering medications).
Fig. 5
Fig. 5. Control rate of comorbidities and estimated proportion for health behaviors in diabetes (current smoking: smoked at least five packs of cigarettes [100 cigarettes] during lifetime; high-risk drinking: more than seven glasses in men or five glasses in women on the same occasion on each of 2 or more a week; regular walking exercise: 5 days or more per week and for 30 minutes or more per activity). HbA1c, glycosylated hemoglobin; BP, blood pressure; LDL-C, low density lipoprotein cholesterol; ABC, glycosylated hemoglobin, blood pressure, and low density lipoprotein cholesterol.
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