The Impact of COVID-19 on Admissions and In-hospital Mortality of Patients with Stroke in Korea: An Interrupted Time Series Analysis.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on admission rates and in-hospital mortality among patients with ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke.

Methods: We constructed a dataset detailing the monthly hospitalizations and mortality rates of inpatients with stroke from January 2017 to December 2021. Employing an interrupted time series analysis, we explored the impact of COVID-19 on hospitalizations and 30-day in-hospital mortality among stroke patients.

Relationship between mid-sleep time and depression, health-related quality of life, and sleep deprivation in the 2018 Korea Community Health Survey.

This cross-sectional study examined the relationship of mid-sleep time (MST) with depression, quality of life, and sleep deprivation. This study included 173 284 adults aged ≥ 19 years who participated in the 2018 Korea Community Health Survey. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 for depression, EuroQol-5 dimension for health-related quality of life, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index for MST, daytime sleepiness, and sleep quality were used.

Health Inequities in Cancer Incidence According to Economic Status and Regions Are Still Existed Even under Universal Health Coverage System in Korea: A Nationwide Population Based Study Using the National Health Insurance Database.

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the level of health equity in relation to cancer incidence.

Materials And Methods: We used the National Health Insurance claims data of the National Health Insurance Service between 2005 and 2022 and annual health insurance and medical aid beneficiaries between 2011 and 2021 to investigate the disparities of cancer incidence. We calculated age-sex standardized cancer incidence rates by cancer and year according to the type of insurance and the trend over time using the annual percentage change.

Socioeconomic Inequalities in e-Cigarette Use in Korea: Comparison with Inequalities in Conventional Cigarette Use Using Two National Surveys.

Socioeconomic inequalities in conventional cigarette smoking are well established in developed countries. The aim of this study was to investigate socioeconomic inequalities in e-cigarette use in Korea, in comparison with inequalities in conventional cigarette use. Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) and the Korea Community Health Survey (KCHS) were analyzed.

Long-term trends in smoking prevalence and its socioeconomic inequalities in Korea, 1992-2016.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate long-term trends in smoking prevalence and its socioeconomic inequalities in Korea.

Methods: Data were collected from 10 rounds of the Social Survey of Statistics Korea between 1992 and 2016. A total of 524,866 men and women aged 19 or over were analyzed.

A publicly well-accepted measure versus an academically desirable measure of health inequality: cross-sectional comparison of the difference between income quintiles with the slope index of inequality.

Objectives: The difference between income quintiles in health is relatively well accepted by the general public as a measure of health inequality. However, the slope index of inequality (SII) in health reflects the patterns of all social groups, including the middle 60%, and it could therefore be considered more academically desirable. If these two measures are closely correlated, the widespread use of the difference between income quintiles in health would be better supported.

Use of the National Health Information Database for Estimating Town-Level Mortality in Korea: Comparison with the National Administrative Data, 2014-2017.

Background: This study addressed town-level mortality rates using the National Health Information Database (NHID) of the National Health Insurance Service in Korea in comparison with those derived from the National Administrative Data (NAD) of the Ministry of Interior and Safety.

Methods: We employed the NHID and NAD between 2014 and 2017. We compared the numbers of population and deaths at the national level between these two data sets.

Cancer Patients' Utilization of Tertiary Hospitals in Seoul Before and After the Benefit Expansion Policy.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate cancer patients' utilization of tertiary hospitals in Seoul before and after the benefit expansion policy implemented in 2013.

Methods: This was a before-and-after study using claims data of the Korean National Health Insurance Service from 2011 to 2016. The unit of analysis was inpatient episodes, and inpatient episodes involving a malignant neoplasm (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision codes: C00-C97) were included in this study.

Trends in Inequality in Cigarette Smoking Prevalence by Income According to Recent Anti-smoking Policies in Korea: Use of Three National Surveys.

Objectives: This study examined trends in inequality in cigarette smoking prevalence by income according to recent anti-smoking policies in Korea.

Methods: The data used in this study were drawn from three nationally representative surveys, the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the Korea Community Health Survey, and the Social Survey of Statistics Korea. We calculated the age-standardized smoking prevalence, the slope index of inequality, and the relative index of inequality by income level as a socioeconomic position indicator.