Endocrinol Metab.  2015 Jun;30(2):142-146. 10.3803/EnM.2015.30.2.142.

Trends in the Diabetes Epidemic in Korea

• Ha KH
• Kim DJ

• KMID: 2282003
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3803/EnM.2015.30.2.142

Abstract

Diabetes mellitus is a leading cause of mortality and increased disability-adjusted life years worldwide. In Korea, the prevalence of diabetes increased from 8.6% to 11.0% in 2001 to 2013 and the prevalence of adult obesity, which is the most important risk factor of diabetes, increased from 29.2% to 31.8% during the same period. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of obese Koreans with diabetes in recent decades and the prevalence of diabetes in people aged 40 years and older also increased in 2001 to 2013. Nevertheless, the mean age at the first diagnosis of diabetes was very similar for men in 2005 and 2013, while the mean age for women decreased slightly. There is an inverse linear relationship between body mass index and age at the diagnosis of diabetes among those who are newly diagnosed. Accordingly, the prevalence of diabetes is increasingly shifting to younger individuals and those who are obese. Therefore, public efforts should focus on healthy lifestyle changes, primary prevention measures, screening for the early detection of diabetes, and long-term management.

Keyword

Age; Diabetes mellitus; Epidemiology; Korea; National survey; Obesity; Prevalence

MeSH Terms

Adult
Body Mass Index
Diabetes Mellitus
Diagnosis
Epidemiology
Female
Humans
Korea
Life Style
Male
Mass Screening
Mortality
Obesity
Prevalence
Primary Prevention
Risk Factors

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1 (A-C) Prevalence of diabetes and obesity among Korean adults aged ≥30 years in 2001 to 2013.

• 

  Fig. 2 Distribution of obesity in diabetic (A) men and (B) women in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2001 to 2013. We defined obesity using the following body mass index (BMI) categories: normal (BMI<23 kg/m2), overweight (23≤BMI<25 kg/m2), and obese (BMI≥25 kg/m2).

• 

  Fig. 3 Age-specific prevalence rates of diabetes among Koreans during 2001 to 2013.

• 

  Fig. 4 Age at the initial diagnosis of diabetes in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2005 to 2013.

• 

  Fig. 5 Association of body mass index (BMI) and age at diagnosis in newly diagnosed subjects with diabetes in the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2013.

Reference

1. Lozano R, Naghavi M, Foreman K, Lim S, Shibuya K, Aboyans V, Abraham J, Adair T, Aggarwal R, Ahn SY. Global and regional mortality from 235 causes of death for 20 age groups in 1990 and 2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2012; 380:2095–2128.

2. Murray CJ, Vos T, Lozano R, Naghavi M, Flaxman AD, Michaud C, Ezzati M, Shibuya K, Salomon JA, Abdalla S. Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for 291 diseases and injuries in 21 regions, 1990-2010: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2010. Lancet. 2012; 380:2197–2223.

3. National Statistical Office. Annual report on the vital statistics in Korea. Seoul: National Statistical Office of Korea;2014.

4. Moon EJ, Jo YE, Park TC, Kim YK, Jung SH, Kim HJ, Kim DJC, Y S, Lee KW. Clinical characteristics and direct medical costs of type 2 diabetic patients. Korean Diabetes J. 2008; 32:358–365.

5. Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare. Korea Health Statistics 2012: Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Seoul: Korean Ministry of Health and Welfare;2014.

6. Kim DJ. The epidemiology of diabetes in Korea. Diabetes Metab J. 2011; 35:303–308.

7. Nguyen NT, Nguyen XM, Lane J, Wang P. Relationship between obesity and diabetes in a US adult population: findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2006. Obes Surg. 2011; 21:351–355.

8. Menke A, Rust KF, Fradkin J, Cheng YJ, Cowie CC. Associations between trends in race/ethnicity, aging, and body mass index with diabetes prevalence in the United States: a series of cross-sectional studies. Ann Intern Med. 2014; 161:328–335.

9. Eckel RH, Kahn SE, Ferrannini E, Goldfine AB, Nathan DM, Schwartz MW, Smith RJ, Smith SR. Obesity and type 2 diabetes: what can be unified and what needs to be individualized? J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011; 96:1654–1663.

10. Lee YH, Bang H, Kim HC, Kim HM, Park SW, Kim DJ. A simple screening score for diabetes for the Korean population: development, validation, and comparison with other scores. Diabetes Care. 2012; 35:1723–1730.

11. Scheen AJ, Paquot N. Obesity: a new paradigm for treating obesity and diabetes mellitus. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2015; 11:196–198.

12. Jeon JY, Kim DJ, Ko SH, Kwon HS, Lim S, Choi SH, Kim CS, An JH, Kim NH, Won JC, Kim JH, Cha BY, Song KH. Taskforce Team of Diabetes Fact Sheet of the Korean Diabetes Association. Current status of glycemic control of patients with diabetes in Korea: the fifth Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Diabetes Metab J. 2014; 38:197–203.

13. Ko KS, Oh TG, Kim CH, Park KS, Lee MK, Kim SY, Cho BY, Lee HK, Koh CS, Min HK. A clinical study on the complications of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in Korea. J Korean Diabetes Assoc. 1991; 15:257–262.

14. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). National Center for Health Statistics. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2013 [Internet]. Hyattsville: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention;2014. updated 2014 Feb 3. cited 2015 Apr 27. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov.

15. Hillier TA, Pedula KL. Characteristics of an adult population with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes: the relation of obesity and age of onset. Diabetes Care. 2001; 24:1522–1527.

16. Schienkiewitz A, Schulze MB, Hoffmann K, Kroke A, Boeing H. Body mass index history and risk of type 2 diabetes: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC): Potsdam Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006; 84:427–433.

17. Banerjee C, Moon YP, Paik MC, Rundek T, Mora-McLaughlin C, Vieira JR, Sacco RL, Elkind MS. Duration of diabetes and risk of ischemic stroke: the Northern Manhattan Study. Stroke. 2012; 43:1212–1217.

18. Zoungas S, Woodward M, Li Q, Cooper ME, Hamet P, Harrap S, Heller S, Marre M, Patel A, Poulter N, Williams B, Chalmers J. ADVANCE Collaborative group. Impact of age, age at diagnosis and duration of diabetes on the risk of macrovascular and microvascular complications and death in type 2 diabetes. Diabetologia. 2014; 57:2465–2474.

19. Pavkov ME, Bennett PH, Knowler WC, Krakoff J, Sievers ML, Nelson RG. Effect of youth-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus on incidence of end-stage renal disease and mortality in young and middle-aged Pima Indians. JAMA. 2006; 296:421–426.

20. Wannamethee SG, Shaper AG, Whincup PH, Lennon L, Sattar N. Impact of diabetes on cardiovascular disease risk and all-cause mortality in older men: influence of age at onset, diabetes duration, and established and novel risk factors. Arch Intern Med. 2011; 171:404–410.