Background: The increasing rate of excess body weight (EBW) in the global population has led to growing health concerns, including cancer-related EBW. We aimed to estimate the population attributable fraction (PAF) of cancer incidence and deaths linked to EBW in Korean individuals from 2015 to 2030 and to compare its value with various body mass index cutoffs. Methods: Levin’s formula was used to calculate the PAF; the prevalence rates were computed using the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data, while the relative risks of specific cancers related to EBW were estimated based on the results of Korean cohort studies. To account for the 15-year latency period when estimating the PAF in 2020, the prevalence rates from 2015 and attributable cases or deaths from 2020 were used. Results: The PAF attributed to EBW was similar for both cancer incidence and deaths using either the World Health Organization (WHO) Asian-Pacific region standard or a modified Asian standard, with the WHO standard yielding the lowest values. In the Korean population, the PAFs of EBW for cancer incidence were 2.96% in men and 3.61% in women, while those for cancer deaths were 0.67% in men and 3.06% in women in 2020. Additionally, PAFs showed a gradual increase in both sexes until 2030. Conclusion The EBW continues to have a significant impact on cancer incidence and deaths in Korea. Effective prevention strategies targeting the reduction of this modifiable risk factor can substantially decrease the cancer burden.

OBJECTIVES: This study explored 11 years of malaria data from mandatory reporting in Gyeonggi Province, Korea, to provide information for prevention strategies by linkage to nationwide health claims data. METHODS: Reported malaria cases in Gyeonggi Province from 2011 to 2021 were linked to medical usage data from the National Health Insurance Database. Data about hospitalization, antibiotic prescription and duration, malarial species, and sociodemographic information of the cases were included. RESULTS: Between 2011 and 2021, a total of 3,011 malaria cases were reported, consisting of 2,828 domestic (93.9%) and 183 imported (6.1%) cases. Over 80% of the cases involved males, with the majority of patients being in their 20s. Both domestic and imported cases peaked between June and August over the years. Imported cases had a higher hospitalization rate (66.9%) compared to domestically-acquired cases (54.9%). There was a significant variation in treatment rates, with 80.7% of imported cases and 74.6% of domestic cases receiving treatment. For domestic cases, chloroquine combined with primaquine was the most commonly prescribed treatment (77.0%), while atovaquone-proguanil was frequently used for imported cases (25.9%). Plasmodium vivax was the predominant species in domestic cases (94.9%), whereas P. malariae was more common in imported cases (62.3%). The overall number of reported malaria cases declined following a sharp decrease in imported cases in 2020 and 2021. CONCLUSIONS Despite a decreasing trend in malaria cases reported in Gyeonggi Province, imported cases exhibited higher hospitalization rates and different antibiotic prescription and treatment patterns, reflecting the presence of a different malarial species.

This study investigated lung cancer risk in people infected with tuberculosis (TB) compared to the general population and evaluated factors associated with lung cancer in TB-infected individuals. Mandatory reported TB infection case data in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea (2010 to 2016) were obtained and linked with medical usage and health screening data from the National Health Information Database. Lung cancer incidence in patients with TB was compared to that in the general population using standardized incidence ratio (SIR), adjusted for age and sex. Lung cancer risk factors in patients with TB were studied using the Cox proportional hazards model. By April 2022, 1.26% (n = 444) of 35,140 patients developed lung cancer after TB diagnosis. Compared to the incidence in the general population, increased lung cancer risk in people with TB was observed (SIR: 2.04, 95% CI: 1.85-2.23). Multivariate analysis showed increased lung cancer in TB-infected individuals, associated with being male (hazard ratio [HR]: 2.24, 95% CI: 1.65-3.04), 1-year increase of age (HR: 1.09, 95% CI: 1.08-1.10), ever smoking (HR: 1.42, 95% CI: 1.02-1.97), and amount of daily smoking with one pack or more (HR: 2.17, 95% CI: 1.63-2.89). Increased lung cancer risk was noted in patients with TB compared to the general population, and sex, age, and smoking were factors associated with lung cancer in patients with TB.