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Review
. 2022:44:e2022057.
doi: 10.4178/epih.e2022057. Epub 2022 Jul 12.

Epidemiology of myocardial infarction in Korea: hospitalization incidence, prevalence, and mortality

Rock Bum Kim  1 , Jang-Rak Kim  1 , Jin Yong Hwang  2
Affiliations
Review

Epidemiology of myocardial infarction in Korea: hospitalization incidence, prevalence, and mortality

Rock Bum Kim et al. Epidemiol Health. 2022.

Abstract

Few studies have comprehensively presented epidemiological indicators of myocardial infarction in Korea. However, multiple published articles and open-source secondary data on the epidemiology of myocardial infarction are now available. This review summarized the hospitalization incidence, prevalence, and mortality rate of myocardial infarction in Korea using articles and open-source data from the Health Insurance Service and the Department of Statistics, surveys of sample populations, registries of patients, and other sources. The epidemiological indicators of myocardial infarction were compared between Korea and other high-income countries. The incidence of hospitalization due to myocardial infarction in Korea was 43.2 cases per 100,000 population in 2016 and has consistently increased since 2011. It was 2.4 times higher among men than among women. The estimated prevalence among adults over 30 years of age ranged from 0.34% to 0.70% in 2020; it was higher among men and increased with age. The mortality in 2020, which was 19.3 per 100,000 population in 2020, remained relatively stable in recent years. Mortality was higher among men than among women. Based on representative inpatient registry data, the proportion of ST-elevated myocardial infarction decreased until recently, and the median time from symptom onset to hospital arrival was approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes. The hospitalization incidence, prevalence, and mortality rate of myocardial infarction were lower in Korea than in other countries, although there was an increasing trend. Comprehensive national-level support and surveillance systems are needed to routinely collect accurate epidemiological indicators.

Keywords: Epidemiology; Incidence; Mortality; Myocardial infarction; Prevalence.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare for this study.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Age-standardized incidence of hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction in Korea between 2007 and 2016. Source: Adapted from Kim RB et al. J Korean Med Sci 2019;34:e322 [4].
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Average annual age-standardized incidence of hospitalization for acute myocardial infarction across 17 regions over 10 years. SE, Seoul; BS, Busan; DG, Daegu; IC, Incheon; GJ, Gwangju; DJ, Daejeon; US, Ulsan; SJ, Sejong; GG, Gyeonggi; GW, Gangwon; CB, Chungbuk; CN, Chungnam; JB, Jeonbuk; JN, Jeonnam; GB, Gyeongbuk; GN, Gyeongnam; JJ, Jeju. Source: Adapted from Kim RB et al. J Korean Med Sci 2019;34:e322 [4].
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Prevalence of myocardial infarction and the number of myocardial infarction patients in Korea (A) by year from 2016 to 2020, and (B) by gender and age group. Source: Reproduced based on data from the Healthcare Bigdata Hub [1].
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Crude mortality rate of acute myocardial infarction in Korea (A) by year from 2007 to 2020, and (B) by gender and age group. Source: Reproduced based on data from Statistics Korea [2].
Figure 5.
Figure 5.
Age-standardized mortality rates of myocardial infarction (I21-I22) in Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries in 2017. Source: Reproduced based on OECD Health Statistics data [23].
Figure 6.
Figure 6.
Case-fatality rate and trend of hospitalization with acute myocardial infarction from 2007 to 2016. Source: Adapted from Kim RB et al. J Korean Med Sci 2019;34:e322 [4].
None
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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