Factors Contributing to Increases in Prescription Drug Expenditures Borne by National Health Insurance in South Korea.

Purpose: Rapid growth of prescription drug expenditures is a problem in South Korea. The objective of this study was to assess the contributions of four variables (therapeutic choice, drug-mix, original use, and price changes) to increases in drug expenditures paid by the National Health Insurance (NHI) in Korea.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted between January 1, 2008 and June 30, 2012 utilizing data from the NHI Claims Database of the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service.

Cost-effectiveness of drug-eluting vs. bare-metal stents in patients with coronary artery disease from the Korean National Health Insurance Database.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the use of drug-eluting stents (DESs), as compared with bare-metal stents (BMSs) in Korea.

Materials And Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted between January 2000 and December 2007. Subjects were stent-treated for the first time between 2004 and 2005, with four years of follow-up (2004-2007) (n=43674).

Determinants of health care expenditures and the contribution of associated factors: 16 cities and provinces in Korea, 2003-2010.

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to classify determinants of cost increases into two categories, negotiable factors and non-negotiable factors, in order to identify the determinants of health care expenditure increases and to clarify the contribution of associated factors selected based on a literature review.

Methods: The data in this analysis was from the statistical yearbooks of National Health Insurance Service, the Economic Index from Statistics Korea and regional statistical yearbooks. The unit of analysis was the annual growth rate of variables of 16 cities and provinces from 2003 to 2010.

Moderating effects of interactions between dietary intake and socioeconomic status on the prevalence of metabolic syndrome.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to examine how nutrients can affect the relationship between the development of metabolic syndrome (MS) and socioeconomic factors.

Methods: This study was based on data obtained from the 2005 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was conducted as a health survey of nationally representative samples of non-institutionalized Korean. The final sample was composed of 3146 people over 40 years of age.

Cardiovascular risk factors for incident hypertension in the prehypertensive population.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of changes in cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors on progression from prehypertension (PreHTN) to hypertension (HTN) using an 8-yr prospective Korean Cancer Prevention Study (KCPS) by the National Health Insurance Corporation (NHIC) in Korea.

Methods: A total of 16,229 subjects, aged 30 to 54, with new onset preHTN at baseline (1994-1996) in a biennial national medical exam were selected and followed up till 2004 at 2-yr intervals. All subjects underwent a biennial health examination including biochemical measurements and behavior.

Sex difference of type 2 diabetes affected by abdominal obesity versus overall obesity.

Purpose: This research compares the predictive value of the abdominal obesity indicator, waist circumference (WC), and the overall obesity indicator, body mass index (BMI), among men and women with regard to type 2 diabetes.

Materials And Methods: This study used data collected from 4,400 households selected by a stratified multistage probability sampling method during the 2001 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). The final study sample included 4,684 subjects over 30 years of age who had completed the health examination required for the analysis of the health interview and health behavior surveys.

Does abdominal obesity accelerate the effect of hypertriglyceridemia on impaired fasting glucose?

Purpose: This study sought to determine whether abdominal obesity is a risk factor for impaired fasting glucose (IFG) and hypertriglyceridemia and to verify whether moderate effect of abdominal obesity on the relationship between IFG and hypertriglyceridemia in Korea.

Materials And Methods: Data from the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey was used for the analysis. The study population included 5,938 subjects aged 20 year old drawn from non-diabetic participants in a health examination survey.

Reforming the hospital service structure to improve efficiency: urban hospital specialization.

The objective of this study is to explain the relationship between the case-mix specialization index and efficiency of inpatient hospital care services. Hospital specialization was measured using the information theory index constructed from diagnosis-related group numbers of hospitals in Seoul, Korea, in 2004. Hospital performance was measured by technical efficiency scores computed by data envelopment analysis for 2004.

Do health behaviors moderate the effect of socioeconomic status on metabolic syndrome?

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine whether the effect of socioeconomic factors on metabolic syndrome is influenced by such covariates as health behavior and psychosocial factors.

Methods: This study used data collected from 4400 households during the 2001 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. A stratified multistage probability sampling method was applied and the final sample included 6601 subjects older than 20 years who had completed necessary health examinations.