OBJECTIVES: We aimed to estimate the annual socioeconomic burden of coronary heart disease (CHD) in Korea in 2005, using the National Health Insurance (NHI) claims data. METHODS: A prevalence-based, top-down, cost-of-treatment method was used to assess the direct and indirect costs of CHD (International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision codes of I20-I25), angina pectoris (I20), and myocardial infarction (MI, I21-I23) from a societal perspective. RESULTS: Estimated national spending on CHD in 2005 was 2.52 billion dollar . The majority of the spending was attributable to medical costs (53.3%), followed by productivity loss due to morbidity and premature death (33.6%), transportation (8.1%), and informal caregiver costs (4.9%). While medical cost was the predominant cost attribute in treating angina (74.3% of the total cost), premature death was the largest cost attribute for patients with MI (66.9%). Annual per-capita cost of treating MI, excluding premature death cost, was 3183 dollar, which is about 2 times higher than the cost for angina (1556 dollar). CONCLUSIONS: The total insurance-covered medical cost (1.13 billion dollar) of CHD accounted for approximately 6.02% of the total annual NHI expenditure. These findings suggest that the current burden of CHD on society is tremendous and that more effective prevention strategies are required in Korea.
Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Angina Pectoris/economics/epidemiology ; Coronary Disease/*economics/epidemiology ; *Cost of Illness ; Female ; Health Care Costs/statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Insurance, Health/statistics & numerical data ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Myocardial Infarction/economics/epidemiology ; Prevalence ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Sex Factors ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Young Adult