Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Mar 4;9(1):30.
doi: 10.1186/s40337-021-00385-w.

Economic burden of eating disorders in South Korea

Sang Min Lee  1 , Minha Hong  2 , Saengryeol Park  3 , Won Sub Kang  1 , In-Hwan Oh  4
Affiliations

Economic burden of eating disorders in South Korea

Sang Min Lee et al. J Eat Disord. .

Abstract

Background: Few studies have investigated the epidemiology of eating disorders using national representative data. In this study, we investigated the treatment prevalence and economic burden of eating disorders in South Korea.

Methods: The aim of this study was to estimate the treatment prevalence and the medical expenditure of diagnosed eating disorders (ICD F50.x) in South Korea between 2010 and 2015. We also examined the economic costs of eating disorders, including the direct medical cost, direct non-medical costs, and indirect costs, in order to calculate the economic burden of such disorders.

Results: The total treatment prevalence of eating disorders in South Korea was 12.02 people (per 100,000) in 2010, and 13.28 in 2015. The cost of medical expenditures due to eating disorders increased from USD 1229724 in 2010 to USD 1843706 in 2015. The total economic cost of eating disorders was USD 5455626 in 2015. In 2015, the economic cost and prevalence of eating disorders was the highest in the 20-29 age group.

Conclusions: The results showed the eating disorders are insufficiently managed in the medical insurance system. Further research is therefore warranted to better understand the economic burdens of each type of eating disorder.

Keywords: Anorexia nervosa; Bulimia nervosa; Burden of disease; Eating disorder; Prevalence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Treatment Prevalence of eating disorders in Korea from 2010 to 2015 (per 100,000)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Economic burden of eating disorders in Korea in 2015 by age
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Economic burden of eating disorders in Korea in 2015 by gender and age
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Kessler RC, et al. The prevalence and correlates of binge eating disorder in the World Health Organization world mental health surveys. Biol Psychiatry. 2013;73(9):904–914. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2012.11.020. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Micali N, et al. The incidence of eating disorders in the UK in 2000–2009: findings from the General Practice Research Database. BMJ Open. 2013;3:e002646. 10.1136/bmjopen-2013-002646. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Smink FR, van Hoeken D, Hoek HW. Epidemiology, course, and outcome of eating disorders. Curr Opin Psychiatry. 2013;26(6):543–548. doi: 10.1097/YCO.0b013e328365a24f. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Jacobi F, et al. Prevalence, co-morbidity and correlates of mental disorders in the general population: results from the German health interview and examination survey (GHS) Psychol Med. 2004;34(4):597–611. doi: 10.1017/S0033291703001399. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hudson JI, et al. The prevalence and correlates of eating disorders in the National Comorbidity Survey Replication. Biol Psychiatry. 2007;61(3):348–358. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.03.040. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources