Purpose: Many studies exist on factors associated with depressive symptoms in urban and rural older adults; however, studies using a longitudinal design are scarce. This study aimed to determine whether there is a difference in the prevalence of depressive symptoms and their associated risk factors over time between urban and rural areas using a longitudinal sample of Korean older adults. Methods: Data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging (2006–2020) of older adult participants ≥65 years without depressive symptoms were analyzed. A generalized estimating equation model was employed for repeated measures analysis. Results: As the time of living in the area increased, the prevalence risk of depressive symptoms in older adults increased in urban areas compared to rural areas in adjusted Model 2. In urban areas, less social contact with neighbors was significantly associated with a higher risk of depressive symptoms. In rural areas, occasional social contact with children was significantly associated with a lower risk of depressive symptoms. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was associated with five components of successful aging with some variations observed based on urban and rural residential areas. Conclusions Our findings suggest that understanding the longitudinal impact of residence on depressive symptoms provides valuable insights into the relationship between urban/rural areas and depressive symptoms. This study highlights the need for nursing intervention efforts aimed at promoting successful aging and increasing social contact with children or neighbors.

Objectives: This study aimed to identify the relationship between mental health problems and oral health in older adults. Methods: The participants of this study were older adults aged 65 years or older. The study used the data of 16,489 people who responded to the 7th Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of depression on the frequency of tooth brushing when confounding factors such as income quintile and smoking were considered. Statistical software, SAS 9.4 ver. (SAS Institute, Cary, NC) was used. Results: Depressed older adult participants were 1.3 times more likely to brush their teeth less than three times a day than non-depressed participants, which was statistically significant. In women with depression, the odds of brushing their teeth less than three times a day were 1.5 times higher than those without depression, which was statistically significant. Conclusions Depression in older adults is correlated with the number of tooth brushes per day. Moreover, depression in women affects their number of tooth brushes.

Purpose: Laparoscopic antireflux surgery is not widely used in Korea, but published data suggest that its results are comparable to those of Western countries. The purpose of this study was to compare the clinical characteristics, medical utilization, and medical costs of antireflux surgery and proton pump inhibitor (PPI) treatments. Methods: We used Korean patients who underwent fundoplication (n = 342, surgery group) and a 25% random sample of all patients diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) who were prescribed PPIs for more than 12 weeks (n = 130,987, medication group) between 2007 to 2016. We compared medical costs and utilization between the 2 groups. Results: The average cost of fundoplication was $4,631. The costs of GERD treatment in the first year after surgery and during the follow-up period were $78.1 and $50.1 per month, respectively. In the surgery group, the average monthly medical expenses decreased as the year progressed, but the average monthly medical expenses ($137.5 per month) did not decrease in the medication group. After stratifying by age group, the medical costs of the surgery group were lower than those of the medication group for all ages except for patients between the ages of 70 and 79. The cost difference between the 2 groups was prominent between the ages of 20 and 49. Conclusion This study showed that a significant decrease in cost was observed 1 year after surgery, and it was more apparent in younger patients. Further research is needed to determine the appropriateness of antireflux surgery for each group of patients.

Background/Aims: The economic burden for gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) has recently increased in Asian countries. This study investigates the cost-effectiveness between anti-reflux surgery and medication, with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for GERD in Korea. Methods: We used a decision tree and Markov model to obtain the costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) of the surgical and medical strategies. Our target cohort was the severe GERD patients aged 50 years old who required a continuous double dose of PPIs. The time horizon was 10 years and all estimates were discounted at 5% per year. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of the anti-reflux surgery compared with medication with PPIs was calculated. Sensitivity analyses were performed on all relevant variables. Results: The cost-utility analysis indicated anti-reflux surgery was more cost-effective than medication among severe GERD patients over a 10- year period. The model predicted that the surgical strategy had a cost savings of $551 and the QALYs had a gain of 1.18 as compared with the medical strategy. The break-even point in costs of the anti-reflux surgery over the medication was estimated to be 9 years. Sensitivity analyses using the varying parameter assumptions demonstrated the robustness of the study results. Conclusions This study showed anti-reflux surgery was less expensive and more effective therapy over the PPI medication after 9 years of follow-up. This suggests the surgical strategy is a cost-effective alternative to PPI medication among patients who need long-term management for GERD in Korea.

Background: The International Classification of Primary Care-2 (ICPC-2) is a classification method designed for primary care. Although previous studies have found that ICPC-2 is a useful tool for demonstrating the relationship between patients’ expectations and health providers’ diagnoses, its utility of ICPC-2 has yet to be fully studied in Korea. This study aimed to evaluate the practicality of ICPC-2 in Korean primary care. Methods: The study was conducted at primary care clinics in Seoul and Gyeonggi areas from October to November 2015. Third-year family medicine residents examined and analyzed the medical records of patients who visited primary care physicians using ICPC-2, and the results were compared with those obtained using the International Classification of Diseases-10 (ICD-10) (Korean version: Korean Standard Classification of Diseases-7). Results: A total of 26 primary care physicians from 23 primary care clinics participated in the study. Furthermore, 2,458 ICD-10 codes and 6,091 ICPC-2 codes were recorded from the data of 1,099 patients. The common disease codes were vasomotor and allergic rhinitis (J30), according to ICD-10, and acute upper respiratory infection (R74) in ICPC-2. Comparing disease status by body systems, the proportion of gastrointestinal disease with ICD-10 codes was significantly higher than that with ICPC-2 codes (P<0.001). Furthermore, patients with >4 diagnoses accounted for 36% of the ICD-10 classifications, whereas those with >4 diagnoses accounted for 4% of the ICPC-2 classifications. Conclusion Introducing ICPC as a complementary means for diagnosing common diseases could be a practical approach in Korean primary care.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Nationwide social inequalities of oral anticoagulation (OAC) usage after the introduction of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have not been well identified in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). This study assessed overall rate and social inequalities of OAC usage after the introduction of NOAC in Korea.METHODS: Between January 2002 and December 2016, we identified 888,540 patients with AF in the Korea National Health Insurance system database. The change of OAC rate in different medical systems after the introduction of NOAC were evaluated.RESULTS: In all population, overall OAC use increased from 13.2% to 23.4% (p for trend <0.001), and NOAC use increased from 0% to 14.6% (p for trend <0.001). Compared with pre-reimbursement (0.48%), the annual increase of OAC use was significantly higher after partial (1.16%, p<0.001), and full reimbursement of OAC (3.72%, p<0.001). Full reimbursement of NOAC (adjusted odds ratio, 2.10; 95% confidence interval, 2.04–2.15) was independently associated with higher OAC use. However, the difference of overall OAC usage between tertiary referral hospitals and nursing or public health centers increased from 17.9% in 2010 to 36.8% in 2016. Moreover, usage rate of NOAC was significantly different among different medical systems from 37.2% at the tertiary referral hospital and 5.5% at nursing or public health centers.CONCLUSIONS: Introduction of NOACs in routine practice for stroke prevention in AF was associated with improved rates of overall OAC use. However, significant practice-level variations in OAC and NOAC use remain producing social inequalities of OAC despite full reimbursement.
Anticoagulants ; Atrial Fibrillation ; Humans ; Insurance ; Korea ; National Health Programs ; Nursing ; Odds Ratio ; Public Health ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Stroke ; Tertiary Care Centers

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Nationwide social inequalities of oral anticoagulation (OAC) usage after the introduction of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) have not been well identified in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). This study assessed overall rate and social inequalities of OAC usage after the introduction of NOAC in Korea. METHODS: Between January 2002 and December 2016, we identified 888,540 patients with AF in the Korea National Health Insurance system database. The change of OAC rate in different medical systems after the introduction of NOAC were evaluated. RESULTS: In all population, overall OAC use increased from 13.2% to 23.4% (p for trend <0.001), and NOAC use increased from 0% to 14.6% (p for trend <0.001). Compared with pre-reimbursement (0.48%), the annual increase of OAC use was significantly higher after partial (1.16%, p<0.001), and full reimbursement of OAC (3.72%, p<0.001). Full reimbursement of NOAC (adjusted odds ratio, 2.10; 95% confidence interval, 2.04–2.15) was independently associated with higher OAC use. However, the difference of overall OAC usage between tertiary referral hospitals and nursing or public health centers increased from 17.9% in 2010 to 36.8% in 2016. Moreover, usage rate of NOAC was significantly different among different medical systems from 37.2% at the tertiary referral hospital and 5.5% at nursing or public health centers. CONCLUSIONS Introduction of NOACs in routine practice for stroke prevention in AF was associated with improved rates of overall OAC use. However, significant practice-level variations in OAC and NOAC use remain producing social inequalities of OAC despite full reimbursement.