We estimated IBD patient data and reimbursement information from the Korean Health Insurance Review & Assessment Service between 2013 and 2017. The data converted into the annual per capita healthcare expenditures were analysed by region and age. For analysis of the results, the currency unit is KRW1000. (KRW1000 = USD0.9).
The overall number of IBD patient has increased steadily (CD;16138 and UC; 31026 in 2013 vs. CD; 20231 and UC; 40939 in 2017), and the overall cost of medical care has also increased significantly. The annual per capita healthcare costs for CD and UC have also increased steadily since 2013 and nearly doubled in 2017(CD; 3583.03 and UC; 999.48 in 2013 vs. CD; 6134.04 and UC; 1651.68 in 2017). The annual per capita healthcare costs for CD and UC in major cities including Seoul, where Tertiary referred hospitals are located, was higher than that for other regions (Figure 1).
The annual per capita healthcare costs for CD in teens, 20s, and 30s was higher than other decades and then decreased sharply, and that for UC in teens and 20s was high and then gradually decreased (Figure 2).
Interestingly, the annual per capita healthcare costs for women under 10 years in UC has increased dramatically.
The healthcare cost in IBD has been increasing not only on a whole scale but also on a per capita healthcare costs in Korea over the last 5 years. Consuming more medical costs at younger ages means that they are suffering from moderate-to-severe disease, which means that there is a large socio-economic loss. Given the increasing trend, government measures are needed to support medical expenses in the future, and it is thought that a sustained trend analysis is needed.