As Korea's population ages, the cost of chronic diseases is increasing. Last year, medical expenses for chronic diseases accounted for 84.5 percent of total healthcare expenditures, government data showed. 

According to the 2024 Chronic Disease Status and Issues report published by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) on Thursday, which analyzes the status of major chronic diseases and health risk factors, medical expenses for chronic diseases reached 90 trillion won last year. This represents a 9.2 percent increase compared to the previous year's 83 trillion won and accounted for 84.5 percent of total medical expenses.

Medical expenses for chronic diseases have been steadily rising alongside the aging population. They increased from 71 trillion won in 2020 to 78 trillion won in 2021, and from 83 trillion won in 2022 to 90 trillion won in 2023. The average annual growth rate stands at 8.3 percent. 

Last year, 13.4 trillion won was spent on chronic diseases, accounting for 14.9 percent of the total. This was followed by musculoskeletal diseases at 12.9 percent, malignant neoplasms (cancer) at 11.2 percent, diabetes at 4 percent, and chronic respiratory diseases at 3.6 percent.

Among chronic diseases, primary hypertension accounted for the highest medical expenditure at 4.4 trillion won, followed by type 2 diabetes at 3.1 trillion won and chronic kidney disease at 2.66 trillion won.

Chronic diseases accounted for eight out of every 10 deaths last year. In total, there were 275,183 deaths from chronic diseases, making up 78.1 percent of all deaths.

The ranking of chronic diseases among the leading causes of death also increased year-over-year. Among the top 10 leading causes of death, chronic diseases such as malignant neoplasms (cancer), heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, Alzheimer's disease, diabetes, and hypertensive disease were prominent. Except for cancer and heart disease, each of these causes moved up one spot from the previous year.

Looking at changes in the prevalence of major chronic diseases over the past decade, the prevalence of hypertension among adults aged 19 and older has remained steady at around 20-22 percent, while diabetes has stabilized at around 10 percent.

On the other hand, adult hypercholesterolemia has been steadily increasing over the past decade, from 11.9 percent in 2012 to 22 percent in 2022. The adult obesity rate, which increased during the Covid-19 pandemic, has remained steady at 37.2 percent in 2022.

“The burden of disease and death from chronic diseases is on the rise, and this burden is expected to increase further as we enter an ultra-elderly society,” said KDCA Commissioner Jee Young-mee. “We will work to develop strategies aimed at reducing the growing burden of chronic diseases.”