Current Status of Diabetes Management in Korea Using National Health Insurance Database

Abstract

Background

The prevalence of diabetes is steadily increasing in Korea. The increase in number of people with diabetes would ultimately result in premature death, poor quality of life, and increasing economic burden. However, in our country, researches regarding on the quality of diabetes management are lacking. This study was conducted in 2005 using National Health Insurance Database to know the current status of diabetes management in Korea.

Methods

We have randomly selected 3,902 subjects out of 2,503,754 subjects who had claims with diagnosis of diabetes between January 2003 to December 2003 by using two staged cluster sampling method. Field survey with review of medical records and telephone survey was conducted with standardized record forms developed by Korean Diabetes Association; Task Force Team For Basic Statistical Study of Korean Diabetes Mellitus.

Results

The age of diabetic subjects was 58.1 ± 12.6 years and the duration of diabetes was 6.2 ± 5.5 years. Hypertension was present in 54% of diabetic subjects. Among those with hypertension, 59% were controlled with blood pressure below 140/90 mmHg, but only 19% were controlled with blood pressure below 130/80 mmHg. Hyperlipidemia was present in 29% of diabetic subjects. Only 38% of those with hyperlipidemia were controlled with LDL-cholesterol below 100 mg/dL. For glycemic control, only 40% of diabetic subjects achieved the goal of HbA1c less than 7%, which was suggested by ADA.

Conclusion

We found that only 20~40% of diabetic subjects in Korea achieved the management goal for glucose, blood pressure, and lipids. It seems urgent to develop a quality management program for diabetes subjects in Korea.