Prevalence of Iron Deficiency Anemia Indicated for Intravenous Iron Treatment in the Korean Population

Abstract

We aimed to investigate the number and prevalence of patients indicated for intravenous iron treatment in a large Korean population using criteria based on laboratory test results in an effort to extract indirect information on the need for intravenous iron treatment. Between 1 January 2019 and 31 December 2021, a total of 83,994 Korean patients (30,499 men and 53,495 women) with a median age of 46 years (interquartile range, 30–61) were evaluated using iron deficiency anemia–associated laboratory tests and serum creatinine tests of estimated glomerular filtration rates. The overall prevalence of anemia (Hb ≤ 11 g/dL) was 16.5%, and the proportion of patients with possible chronic kidney disease who had an estimated glomerular filtration rate < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 was 11.4%. The number of patients indicated for reimbursable intravenous iron treatment was higher in women than in men, higher in older patients, and higher in 2021 than in 2019 (all p < 0.001). The prevalence of patients indicated for reimbursable intravenous iron treatment was up to 30.0% in those ≥ 80 years of age in 2019. The results of this study provide basic knowledge about the use of iron deficiency anemia-associated laboratory tests in planning nutritional support programs using an intravenous iron formulation in Korea.

Utilization of Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Test and the Prevalence of Enzyme Deficiency in Korea

“…The information regarding the presence of conditions such as thalassemia (which is another rare disease in Korea), anemia, and a high reticulocyte count, which may have affected the G6PD test results, as well as whether the parents of pediatric patients underwent screening, was also limited [19]. The study period included the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the use of G6PD activity tests may have been different from non-pandemic situations [21][22][23]. The low number of G6PD patients may have influenced the prevalence.…”

The Utilization of Serum Folate and Homocysteine Tests and the Prevalence of Folate Deficiency in Reproductive-Age Korean Women during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…On the other hand, the largest group of patients managed with folate deficiency anemia (D52) in the HIRA database was women aged 25 to 35 years, which aligns with the age range typically associated with childbirth in Korea [ 45 ]. These differences in patient populations may be attributed to various factors, such as the healthcare-related behaviors of patients and the clinician’s preference for using the ICD-10-CM code for managing patients with reimbursable folate deficiency anemia [ 46 , 47 ]. For instance, in our study population of women in their 40s, they may have undergone folate testing for different medical conditions when visiting local clinics and hospitals.…”

“…The results of this study can serve as a foundation for developing guidelines for nutritional support in public health. Our findings highlight the importance of analyzing laboratory data to assess the utilization and prevalence of nutritional deficiencies, providing valuable information for public health initiatives [ 46 , 47 ].…”

Investigation of the Prevalence of Diminished Ovarian Reserve in Korean Women of Reproductive Age

“…Laboratory information system-based data analysis about the specimen prevalence of specific analytes and their result combinations and/or patterns can give important implications for the quality management of a clinical laboratory, with appropriate utilization of tests and epidemiological information [16,17]. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of diminished ovarian reserve in a large population of reproductive-aged women by age and geographic region in Korea using different cutoffs of serum AMH and FSH levels.…”