(image: Korea Bizwire)
SEOUL, Sept. 7 (Korea Bizwire) — While more than 6 million Koreans have been diagnosed with diabetes, only a few are taking proper steps to prevent complications, a study showed Tuesday.
The Korean Diabetes Association reported that there were a total of 6.05 million diabetes patients over 30 years of age in South Korea as of 2020.
The result comes 30 years earlier than the forecast made by the association back in 2012 that the number of diabetics would exceed 5.91 million by 2050.
In contrast to 3.12 million diabetics in 2010, the number of individuals suffering from the condition has doubled in a single decade.
Among those afflicted, 39.2 percent were over 65 years of age. A whopping 51.2 percent of women over 65 years of age were found to have diabetes.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency reported that South Korea’s overall spending on treating diabetes has grown by more than 60 percent in the last five years, rising from 1.8 trillion won in 2015 to 2.9 trillion won in 2020.
Only 9.7 percent of diabetics, however, are taking comprehensive measures to treat their illness, the association said.
Only 24.5 percent of diabetics were undergoing proper treatment to reduce glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels down to 6.5 percent or under.
H. M. Kang (hmkang@koreabizwire.com)
