6 out of 10 People Undergoing Health Checkups Are Diagnosed or Suspected of Illness... Why Are Such Patients Increasing Every Year?

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[Asia Economy Reporter Byeon Seon-jin] In the national health screening conducted for health insurance subscribers, it was found that 6 out of 10 people were diagnosed with having or suspected of having a disease. Due to population aging, the proportion of people receiving such diagnoses is increasing every year.

According to the '2021 Health Screening Statistical Yearbook' published by the National Health Insurance Service on the 29th, last year, 58.4% of examinees in the general health screening were diagnosed as either 'suspected of disease' (33.2%) or 'patients with disease' (25.2%). Suspected of disease refers to people suspected of general diseases or hypertension and diabetes, while patients with disease refer to those who have previously been diagnosed with hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, or pulmonary tuberculosis and are currently receiving medication treatment.

The proportion of those diagnosed as 'normal' was 41.6%, among which 11.1% were 'Normal A' with good health, and 30.5% were 'Normal B' who have no health abnormalities but require self-management or preventive measures such as dietary habits and environmental improvements.

As age increases, the rate of normal diagnosis decreases, while the proportion of suspected or patients with disease increases. The normal diagnosis rate for those under their 20s was 73.1%, but it decreased to 60.0% in their 30s, 46.6% in their 40s, 38.8% in their 50s, 21.5% in their 60s, 12.1% in their 70s, and 6.5% in their 80s.

Due to population aging, the proportion of people with diseases is continuously increasing. The proportion of patients with disease, which was 20.8% in 2016, rose to 25.2% last year, while the proportion of those diagnosed as normal slightly decreased from 42.0% to 41.6% during the same period.

Smoking Decreased and Obesity Increased Due to COVID-19

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According to last year's questionnaire results, the smoking rate was 19.3%, with 34.0% for men and 3.9% for women. Among men, those in their 40s had the highest rate at 42.2%, and among women, those under their 20s had the highest rate at 7.7%. The smoking rate last year was 19.3%, down 2.8 percentage points from 22.1% in 2016. The rate for men decreased by 4.4 percentage points, but for women, it increased by 0.5 percentage points.

The obesity rate, defined as a body mass index (BMI) of 25 or higher, was 39.3% overall, with 48.8% for men and 29.4% for women. Among men, those in their 30s had the highest rate at 55.4%, and among women, those in their 70s had the highest rate at 43.6%. The obesity rate has been increasing every year, rising by 4.4 percentage points compared to 2016. It increased by 7.5 percentage points for men and 1.8 percentage points for women.

When looking at metabolic syndrome risk factors by diagnostic criteria, the order was ▲high blood pressure 44.6%, ▲high blood sugar 41.6%, ▲abdominal obesity 25.7%, ▲high triglycerides 17.9%, and ▲low HDL cholesterol 15.1%. Except for low HDL cholesterol, men had higher rates than women, and the proportion of risk factors increased with age.

Cancer and Infant Health Screenings Increased, General Health Screenings Decreased

Last year, the screening rates were 74.2% for general health screenings, 56.6% for cancer screenings, and 87.1% for infant health screenings. Comparing the screening rates over the past five years, general health screenings decreased by 3.5 percentage points from 77.7% in 2016 to 74.2% last year, while cancer screenings and infant health screenings increased by 7.4 percentage points and 15.2 percentage points, respectively.

The region with the highest general health screening rate was Sejong (79.1%), and the lowest was Jeju (71.2%).

Last year's cancer screening rate was 56.6%, an increase of 15.0 percentage points compared to 2016. By cancer type, cervical cancer increased by 14.0 percentage points, liver cancer by 13.6 percentage points, colorectal cancer by 10.9 percentage points, stomach cancer by 6.2 percentage points, and breast cancer by 2.5 percentage points.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.