Cancer is the leading cause of death and one of the most significant healthcare expenses in Korea. The purpose of this study was to estimate the economic burden of cancer on Korean society. We studied the medical, non-medical, morbidity and mortality costs related to cancer treatment, lost productivity and premature death. Healthcare claims for 2002 obtained from the Health Insurance Review Agency were used to estimate medical expenditures; these were linked with the Korean Central Cancer Registry database to identify cancer patients. The number of deaths used to estimate mortality costs was obtained from the Annual Report of Mortality from the National Statistics Office of Korea. Moreover, data from the Korean National Statistics Office and Ministry of Labor were used to calculate life expectancy at the age of death, labour force participation, and average age- and gender-specific earnings. In 2002, the estimated total economic cost of cancer amounted to $9.4 billion (1.72% of GDP) at a 3% discount rate. Medical care costs amounted to 13.7% of total costs, non-medical costs 6.5%, morbidity costs 14.5%, and mortality costs accounted for 65.3%. Increased prevention, earlier diagnosis, new therapies and effective cancer control policies are needed to reduce the economic burden of cancer in Korea.
Upper endoscopy is slightly more costly to perform, but the cost to detect one case of gastric cancer is lower.
Objectives : The objective of this study is to estimate the economic costs of cancer on society. Methods : We estimated the economic burden of people with cancer in South Korea. To perform the analysis, we reviewed the records of people who were cancer patients and those who were newly diagnosed with cancer. The data was compiled from the National Health Insurance Corporation, which included the insurance claims database, a list of cancer patients, a database that records the cancer rates, the Korea Central Cancer Registry Center s cancer patient registry database and the Korea National Statistical Office s causes of death database. We classified the costs as related to cancer into direct costs and indirect costs, and we estimated each cost. Direct costs included both medical and non-medical care expenses and the indirect costs consisted of morbidity, mortality and the caregiver s time costs. Results : The total economic costs of cancer in South Korea stood at 14.1 trillion won in 2005. The largest amount of the cost 7.4 trillion won, was the mortality costs. Following this were the morbidity costs (3.2 trillion won), the medical care costs (2.2 trillion won), the non-medical care costs (1.1 trillion won) and the costs related to the caregiver s time (100 billion won). As a result, the economic cost of cancer to South Korea is estimated to be between 11.6 trillion won to 14.1 trillion won for the year 2005. Conclusions : We need to reduce the cancer burden through encouraging people to undergo early screening for cancer and curing it in the early stage of cancer, as well as implementing policies to actively prevent cancer.
We performed this study to assess the prevalence of sensitization to aeroallergens and to analyze the difference between prevalence rates according to children's ages and residential areas. In this nationwide cross-sectional study, first grade students of 45 elementary schools and 40 middle schools were randomly selected, and skin prick tests were performed for 18 inhalant allergens between October and November 2010. Of 7,829 analyzed subjects, 3,753 (47.9%) were sensitized to at least one aeroallergen. Sensitization to Dermatophagoides farinae was found to be the most prevalent in elementary schoolchildren (32.4%), followed by Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Tyrophagus putrescentiae, Japanese hop, and oak. In middle schoolchildren, D. pteronyssinus yielded the highest prevalence (42.7%), followed by D. farinae, T. putrescentiae, Japanese hop, and cat. In middle schoolchildren, the sensitization rate to aeroallergens in metropolitan, urban, and rural areas was 57.2%, 54.3%, and 49.8%, respectively (P = 0.019). In this age group, the sensitization rate in low, middle, high, and very high income groups was 53.8%, 51.8%, 59.0%, and 59.6%, respectively (P = 0.002). In conclusion, the sensitization rate is 47.9% and house dust mite is the most prevalent allergen in the pediatric population in Korea. The rate is higher in metropolitan areas and the highest income group than in rural areas and low income groups.
This study assessed the screening rates for gastric cancer by two different screening methods, upper gastrointestinal (UGI) series and endoscopy; intentions to undergo future gastric cancer screening; and the preferred method of screening. The study population was derived from the 2006 Korean National Cancer Screening Survey. The Korean National Cancer Screening Survey is an annual cross-sectional survey that uses nationally representative random sampling to investigate cancer screening rates. A total of 1,625 Koreans over 40 years of age participated in this study. Logistic regression was used to identify the factors associated with undergoing gastric cancer screening, having an intention to be screened, and preferring one of the two screening tests. Among the 1,625 subjects, 15.1% had received a UGI, 33.2% had received an endoscopy, and 43.1% had undergone either or both of the tests in the previous 2 years. About 52% of people reported the intention to be screened within the next 2 years. The odds ratio for intending to be screened was 11.8 and 6.2 higher among those who had undergone a prior UGI test and an endoscopy test within the previous 2 years, respectively, than for those who had never been screened. Among the 1,625 individuals, 67% chose endoscopy and 33% UGI for their preferred future screening method. Collectively, our results highlight the preference for endoscopy testing as a gastric cancer screening method. Providers' assessments of individuals' screening preferences in combination with intervention strategies to promote performance of the preferred test may increase patient compliance with gastric cancer screening recommendations. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2009;18(5):1390 -8)
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