Estimating the Burden of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: Analysis of a Nationwide Korean Database

Abstract

Background/AimsManagement of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) imposes a heavy economic burden. This study was to estimate the epidemiologic features of IBS and to report the IBS burden for the first time in the Korean population. MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted using the National Health Insurance (NHI) system database, which covers the entire population of Korea. IBS was defined as diagnostic code -10 in adults with any outpatient clinic visits or hospitalization related to IBS. We excluded diseases that mimic IBS symptoms. ResultsA total of 2.42 million (58.2% female) individuals were identified as patients with IBS, yielding an age-and gender-adjusted prevalence of 5.1% in males and 6.9% in females. The prevalence of IBS increased proportionally with age, with higher medical costs in middle-aged patients. Outpatient clinics were visited by 98.6% of IBS patients, and 1.9% were treated upon admission. Of these patients, 87.6% were given a prescription. Co-morbidities that commonly accompanied IBS included upper gastrointestinal (36.1%), respiratory (12.3%), musculoskeletal (8.0%) disease, somatoform (4.3%) and depression/anxiety disorders (3.1%). The NHI costs of IBS, which include the NHI covered cost and beneficiary copayment charges, were estimated to be 155 million USD, which accounts for 0.46% of the total NHI costs for the entire Korean population. ConclusionsAccording to the Korean national claims database, about 6% of the Korean population seeks medical care for IBS at least once per year. This high prevalence places a large economic burden on the Korean healthcare system, accounting for 0.46% of overall national medical expenditure.

Clinical Dimensions of Bloating in Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders

“…7,8 Also, bloating symptoms are associated with a low level of health-related quality of life, especially physical functioning, including lower energy and food intake, anxiety, and depression. 8,27,28 There are few data on the use of medications for bloating symptoms in patients with IBS. In a study on tegaserod in IBS, bloating was the second most common symptom for indication of prescribing this medication (80%), following abdominal pain or discomfort (87%).…”

The Usefulness of “Analysisof Burden of Irritable Bowel Syndrome From National Health Insurance Claims Database” in the Healthcare Policy in Korea

“…The IBS related excessive charge was $313 per patient for the study year. Extrapolation of Talley's findings to the US white population suggests an annual excess charge due to IBS of $8 billion, which is substantially different from the finding of national database by Sandler et al 3 Jung et al 5 reported the epidemiologic features of IBS in 2008 and for the first time the medical and socioeconomic burdens it imposes on the Korean population through a cross-sectional study by using the NHI HIRA database which covers the entire population of Korea. The authors identified IBS and co-morbidities using the ICD-10 codes.…”

“…9 IBS is notorious for both diagnostic ambiguity and no effective treatment so far, and is not considered as a good candidate for cost analysis to assess the disease burden in a population. Jung et al 5 has just taken the first step to achieve greater efficiency in healthcare spending in Korea. However, at present, both gastroenterologists and healthcare decision makers in Korea should bear in mind the proverb 'Rome was not built in a day' and put their heads together to go further research into the economics of IBS.…”

Targeting the gut microbiota for the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome

“…IBS is a common gastrointestinal (GI) disorder with an estimated global prevalence of around 10% . Its high prevalence and chronic nature decrease patients' quality of life (QoL) and place a significant economic burden on healthcare systems in both western and eastern countries …”