Patients wait to see doctors at Pusan National University Hospital in South Korea’s southeastern port city of Busan on Aug. 7, 2020. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Nov. 30 (Korea Bizwire) — The excess mortality rate of individuals suffering from bipolar disorder in South Korea turned out to be the highest among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member states, the health ministry said Monday.
Excess mortality rate is a mortality rate of a certain disease in relative terms to the average mortality rate among the population between the ages of 15 and 74.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare referred to 2021 Health at a Glance, an OECD report on health for the year 2019, to show that South Korea’s excess mortality rate for bipolar disorder stood at 4.4, which exceeds the OECD average of 2.9.
The excess mortality rate for schizophrenia stood at 4.5, also exceeding the OECD average of 3.7.
The risk of suicide of individuals with mental disorders within a year after dehospitalization stood at 0.65 percent and the risk of suicide within 30 days following dehospitalization stood at 0.19 percent in 2018, surpassing the OECD average of 0.47 percent and 0.13 percent respectively.
“Individuals with mental illness are exposed to a higher mortality rate due to side effects of psychiatric treatment and a high risk of suicide, requiring interdisciplinary medicine and post-treatment monitoring,” the Ministry of Health and Welfare said.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
