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PurposeThe National Health Insurance Service-Health Screening Cohort (NHIS-HEALS) is a cohort of participants who participated in health screening programmes provided by the NHIS in the Republic of Korea. The NHIS constructed the NHIS-HEALS cohort database in 2015. The purpose of this cohort is to offer relevant and useful data for health researchers, especially in the field of non-communicable diseases and health risk factors, and policy-maker.ParticipantsTo construct the NHIS-HEALS database, a sample cohort was first selected from the 2002 and 2003 health screening participants, who were aged between 40 and 79 in 2002 and followed up through 2013. This cohort included 514 866 health screening participants who comprised a random selection of 10% of all health screening participants in 2002 and 2003.Findings to dateThe age-standardised prevalence of anaemia, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, hypercholesterolaemia and abnormal urine protein were 9.8%, 8.2%, 35.6%, 2.7%, 14.2% and 2.0%, respectively. The age-standardised mortality rate for the first 2 years (through 2004) was 442.0 per 100 000 person-years, while the rate for 10 years (through 2012) was 865.9 per 100 000 person-years. The most common cause of death was malignant neoplasm in both sexes (364.1 per 100 000 person-years for men, 128.3 per 100 000 person-years for women).Future plansThis database can be used to study the risk factors of non-communicable diseases and dental health problems, which are important health issues that have not yet been fully investigated. The cohort will be maintained and continuously updated by the NHIS.

Among young adults, the association of the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) High Blood Pressure Clinical Practice Guidelines with risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) later in life is uncertain.OBJECTIVE To determine the association of blood pressure categories before age 40 years with risk of CVD later in life.

IMPORTANCE Previous studies have shown a U-or J-shaped association of body mass index (BMI) or change in BMI with coronary heart disease (CHD) among middle-aged and elderly adults. However, whether a similar association exists among young adults is unclear. OBJECTIVE To determine whether an association exists between BMI or BMI change with CHD among young adults. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS This population-based longitudinal study used data obtained by the Korean National Health Insurance Service from 2002 to 2015. The study population comprised 2 611 450 men and women aged between 20 and 39 years who underwent 2 health examinations, the first between 2002 and 2003 and the second between 2004 and 2005. EXPOSURES World Health Organization Western Pacific Region guideline BMI categories of underweight, normal weight, overweight, obese grade 1, and obese grade 2 derived during the first health examination and change in BMI calculated during the second health examination. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared). Absolute risks (ARs), adjusted hazard ratios (aHRs), and 95% CIs for acute myocardial infarction or CHD during follow-up from 2006 to 2015. RESULTS Data from 1 802 408 men with a mean (SD) age of 35.1 (4.8) years and 809 042 women with a mean (SD) age of 32.5 (6.3) years were included. The mean (SD) BMI was 23.2 (3.2) for the total population, 24.0 (3.0) for men, and 21.4 (2.9) for women. Compared with normal weight men, overweight (AR, 1.38%; aHR, 1.18 [95% CI, 1.14-1.22]), obese grade 1 (AR, 1.86%; aHR, 1.45 [95% CI, 1.41-1.50]), and obese grade 2 (AR, 2.69%; aHR, 1.97 [95% CI, 1.86-2.08]) men had an increased risk of CHD (P < .001 for trend). Similarly, compared with normal weight women, overweight (AR, 0.77%; aHR, 1.34 [95% CI, 1.24-1.46]), obese grade 1 (AR, 0.95%; aHR, 1.52 [95% CI, 1.39-1.66]), and obese grade 2 (AR, 1.01%; aHR, 1.64 [95% CI, 1.34-2.01]) women had an increased risk of CHD (P < .001 for trend). Compared with participants who maintained their weight at normal levels, those who became obese had elevated CHD risk among men (0.35% increase in AR; aHR, 1.35 [95% CI, 1.17-1.55]) and women (0.13% increase in AR; aHR, 1.31 [95% CI, 0.95-1.82]). Weight loss to normal levels among obese participants was associated with reduced CHD risk for men (0.58% decrease in AR; aHR, 0.77 [95% CI, 0.64-0.94]) and women (0.57% decrease in AR; aHR, 0.66 [95% CI, 0.45-0.98]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Obesity and weight gain were associated with elevated risk of CHD among young adults in this study. Studies that prospectively determine the association between weight change and CHD risk are needed to validate these findings.

Repositioning of the global epicentre of non-optimal cholesterol NCD Risk Factor Collaboration (NCD-RisC)* High blood cholesterol is typically considered a feature of wealthy western countries 1,2. However, dietary and behavioural determinants of blood cholesterol are changing rapidly throughout the world 3 and countries are using lipid-lowering medications at varying rates. These changes can have distinct effects on the levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and non-HDL cholesterol, which have different effects on human health 4,5. However, the trends of HDL and non-HDL cholesterol levels over time have not been previously reported in a global analysis. Here we pooled 1,127 population-based studies that measured blood lipids in 102.6 million individuals aged 18 years and older to estimate trends from 1980 to 2018 in mean total, non-HDL and HDL cholesterol levels for 200 countries. Globally, there was little change in total or non-HDL cholesterol from 1980 to 2018. This was a net effect of increases in low-and middle-income countries, especially in east and southeast Asia, and decreases in high-income western countries, especially those in northwestern Europe, and in central and eastern Europe. As a result, countries with the highest level of non-HDL cholesterol-which is a marker of cardiovascular riskchanged from those in western Europe such as Belgium,

This study determined the effects of anti-diabetic medication adherence on the long-term all-cause mortality and hospitalization for cerebrovascular disease and myocardial infarction among newly diagnosed patients. The study used retrospective cohort from the National Health Insurance Service. Study participants were 65,076 newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus patients aged ≥40 years. The medication adherence was evaluated from the proportion of days covered (PDC) between 2006 and 2007. Outcome variables were mortality, newly diagnosed cerebrovascular disease (CVD) and myocardial infarction (MI) in 2008–2017. Cox-proportional hazard regression analysis was performed. After adjusting for sex, age, monthly contribution, insurance type, medical institution type, Charlson comorbidity index score, disability, hypertension, and active ingredients of oral hypoglycemic agents, the adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) for all-cause-mortality of the lowest PDC group (<0.20) was 1.45 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.36–1.54) as compared to the highest PDC (≥0.8). The aHR for all-cause-mortality associated with PDC levels of 0.60–0.79, 0.40–0.59, and 0.20–0.39 were 1.19, 1.26, and 1.34, respectively (Ptrend < 0.001). Compared to the highest PDC group, diabetic patients with the lowest PDC had elevated risk for CVD (aHR = 1.41; 95% CI = 1.30–1.52; Ptrend < 0.001). Improving anti-diabetic medication adherence among newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus patients is essential to the reduce risk for cardiovascular disease and long-term all-cause mortality.

BackgroundAlthough high serum cholesterol in young adults is known to be a predictor for cardiovascular events, there is not enough evidence for the association of cholesterol level change with cardiovascular disease (CVD). This study aimed to evaluate whether the change in cholesterol is associated with incidence of CVD among young adults.Methods and ResultsWe examined 2 682 045 young adults (aged 20–39 years) who had undergone 2 consecutive national health check‐ups provided by Korean National Health Insurance Service between 2002 and 2005. Cholesterol levels were classified into low (<180 mg/dL), middle (180–240 mg/dL) and high (≥240 mg/dL). CVD events were defined as ≥2 days hospitalization attributable to CVD for 10 years follow‐up. Increased cholesterol levels were significantly associated with elevated ischemic heart disease risk (adjusted hazard ration [aHR]=1.21; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.03–1.42 in low‐high group and aHR=1.21; 95% CI=1.15–1.27 in middle‐high group) and cerebrovascular disease (CEVD) risk (aHR=1.24; 95% CI=1.05–1.47 in low‐high group and aHR=1.09; 95% CI=1.02–1.16 in middle‐high group). Decreased cholesterol levels were associated with reduced ischemic heart disease risk (aHR=0.91; 95% CI=0.88–0.95 in middle‐low group, aHR=0.65; 95% CI=0.56–0.75 in high‐low group and aHR=0.68; 95% CI=0.65–0.73 in high‐middle group). Furthermore, lower cerebrovascular disease risk (aHR=0.76; 95% CI=0.62–0.92) was observed in the high‐low group compared with patients with sustained high cholesterol.ConclusionsThe findings of our study indicate that increased cholesterol levels were associated with high CVD risk in young adults. Furthermore, young adults with decreased cholesterol levels had reduced risk for CVD.

ObjectivesThe current status, time trends and future projections of a national health equity target are crucial elements of national health equity surveillance. This study examined time trends in inequality by income in life expectancy (LE) at birth between 2004 and 2017 and made future projections for the year 2030 in Korea.DesignUsing individually linked mortality data, time trends in inequality by income in LE at birth were examined. The LE projection was made with the Lee-Carter model.SettingTotal Korean population and death data derived from the National Health Information Database of the National Health Insurance Service.ParticipantsA total of 685 773 157 subjects and 3 486 893 deaths between 2004 and 2017 were analysed.Primary and secondary outcome measuresAnnual LE and the magnitude of inequality by income in LE between 2004 and 2030.ResultsInequality by income in LE among the total Korean population increased during the past 14 years, and this inequality is projected to become even greater in the future. In 2030, the magnitude of inequality by income in LE is projected to increase by 0.25 years in comparison to the magnitude in 2017. The increase in LE inequality was projected to be more prominent among women, with a projected 1.08 year increase in LE inequality between 2017 and 2030.ConclusionAggressive policies should be developed to close the increasing LE gap in Korea. LE inequalities by income should be considered as a measurable target for health equity in the process of establishing the National Health Plan 2030 in Korea.