OBESITY, HYPERTENSION, DIABETES MELLITUS, AND HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA OF KOREAN ADULTS

ABSTRACT

Objectives: We investigated the trends in obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia before and during the COVID-19 outbreak in the Korean adult population. Methods: Data from 60,098 individuals of the Korean National Health and Nutritional examination Survey between 2011 and 2020 aged≥ = 19 were used. The age-standardized prevalence and annual percent changes (APC) were calculated for obesity (body mass index≥ = 25 kg/m 2), hypertension (systolic/diastolic blood pressure≥ = 140/90mmHg or under treatment), diabetes (hemoglobin A1c≥ = 6.5%, fasting glucose≥ = 126 mg/dL, physician diagnosis, or under treatment), and hypercholesterolemia (total cholesterol≥ = 240 mg/dL or under treatment). Results: Over the past decade of 2011-2020, age-standardized APCs (95% confidence interval)during 2011-2020 for obesity, hypertension, diabetes and hypercholesterolemia were 3.0% (2.1 to 3.8%), 0.1% (-1.3 to 1.5%), 1.5% (-1.0 to 4.0%) and 8.0% (5.7 to 10.3%), respectively in men;and -0.2% (-1.5 to 1.2%), -0.5% (-1.9 to 0.9%), -0.1% (-2.3 to 2.2%) and 5.9% (3.9 to 8.0%), respectively in women. In 2020 compared to the previous three years (2017-2019), obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and hypercholesterolemia increased in men (+6.0, + 1.8, + 1.9 and + 2.8 percentage points, respectively), but the increase was not apparent in women (+2.5, -1.1, + 0.8 and + 0.7 percentage points, respectively). Conclusion: An increase in major chronic diseases was observed in Korean adults, especially men, during the COVID-19 epidemic. In order to reduce the burden of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in the future, effective intervention strategies need to be developed according to the characteristics of the target groups.