Elderly people attend a fitness class at a senior community center in Okcheon, 174 kilometers south of Seoul, on June 1, 2021. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Aug. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — The share of frail senior citizens in the elderly population in South Korea has significantly declined amid rapid population aging, a study showed Wednesday.
A joint research team from Asan Medical Center and Chonnam National University Hospital analyzed the health of 17,784 individuals aged over 65 during the period from 2008 to 2020, using the national health insurance database.
The study revealed a decrease in the proportion of frail senior citizens from 41.1 percent in 2008 to 23.1 percent in 2020.
In contrast, the proportion of healthy senior citizens increased sharply from 28.7 percent in 2008 to 44.2 percent in 2020.
Simultaneously, the average frailty index among senior citizens declined from 0.23 in 2008 to 0.18 in 2020. An index score above 0.2 is classified as a pre-frailty stage.
Meanwhile, the prevalence rate of the chronic disease dyslipidemia rose from 17.9 percent in 2008 to 40.9 percent in 2020, while the rates of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases increased from 20.6 percent and 5.6 percent to 30 percent and 9.3 percent, respectively, during the same period.
The proportion of senior citizens who have difficulty chewing decreased from 59.4 percent to 33.1 percent, and those who have difficulty carrying out everyday activities dropped from 42.2 percent to 12 percent.
Among senior citizens, the percentage of smokers fell from 17 percent to 9.3 percent.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
