Trends in National Pharmaceutical Expenditure in Korea during 2011 - 2020.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to identify the trends in pharmaceutical expenditure (PE), share of PE in health expenditure (HE), and trends in expenditure by pharmacological groups (ATC level 1 classification) in Korea for a 10-year period (2011 - 2020) and compare the data with those of other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Using the findings, we determined the current status of pharmaceutical expenditure (PE) management in Korea and derived the implications for establishing future macroscopic policies on PE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analyzed the OECD Health Statistics and the Korean national health insurance claims database from January 2011 through December 2020. The outcome measures were HE, PE, and pharmaceutical sales data for ATC level 1 medicines from OECD Health Statistics data during 2011 - 2020. As OECD collects limited ATC level 1 data, we used the HIRA health insurance claims data for PEs of ATC level-1 classification, including D, L, P, and S. RESULTS: PE in Korea increased by 38.5% from 19.9 billion USD in 2011 to 27.6 billion USD in 2020, whereas the share of PE in HE decreased by 6.3%p from 26.4% in 2011 to 20.1% in 2020. In 2020, Korea ranked third in PE per capita (760.9 USD PPP) and had the highest share of PE (20.1%) among the 19 OECD countries studied. By ATC level 1 class, the highest PE was A (alimentary tract and metabolism) at 4.3 billion USD, and L (antineoplastic and immunomodulating agents) had the highest increase at 13.4%; in contrast, J (anti-infectives for systemic use) had the lowest increase in annual average PE at -0.2% in 2020 relative to 2011. Among the 17 OECD countries, Korea had the highest and the third-highest expenditures for ATC codes A and J, respectively. CONCLUSION: PE in Korea has continued to increase between 2011 and 2020, indicating the need for macroscopic management of PE. Our results on PE by ATC code may help health authorities in establishing future policies on PE.

Prevalence and Socioeconomic Status of Patients with Genetic Myopathy in Korea: A Nationwide, Population-Based Study.

BACKGROUND: Genetic myopathy is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of genetic disorders characterized by progressive degeneration of skeletal muscles. Epidemiological studies of genetic myopathy have not yet been performed in Korea. OBJECTIVES: This study used data from the national health insurance claims database to determine the prevalence and socioeconomic status of patients with genetic myopathy in Korea. METHODS: We analyzed the Health Insurance Review and Assessment database from 2007 to 2011. Patients with genetic myopathy were defined based on diagnostic and procedure codes. We then evaluated the prevalence, types of health insurances, and medical expenses of these patients. RESULTS: During the 11-year study period, 2,988 patients with genetic myopathy were enrolled. Among them, 1,762 were men and 1,226 were women. The prevalence per 100,000 population in 2017 was 3.09 (3.94 for men and 2.24 for women). The prevalence of genetic myopathy among men <35 years old (8.33 per 100,000 population) was approximately twice that among women <35 years old (4.06 per 100,000 population). However, there was no significant difference in the prevalence of genetic myopathy among those ≥35 years old according to sex. The ratio of patients using medical aid among all genetic myopathy patients was approximately 4 times than that among the general population in Korea. The medical expenses per person for genetic myopathy increased from USD 2,027 in 2007 to USD 4,810 in 2017. CONCLUSIONS: Our study was the first nationwide epidemiologic study of the prevalence and socioeconomic status of patients with genetic myopathy in Korea. Our results confirmed a sex divergence in a younger population and those with low socioeconomic status among patients with genetic myopathy.

Amygdalin Contents in Peaches at Different Fruit Development Stages.

Amygdalin contents of the seeds, endocarps, and mesocarps from three peach cultivars (i.e., Stone Peach, Hikawa Hakuho, and Bakhyang) were measured at three stages of fruit development (stone-hardening, fruit enlargement, and ripening). The peach samples were dried and defatted with a Soxhlet apparatus, reflux extracted with methanol, and analyzed using reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography. During all fruit development stages, the amygdalin contents in the seeds were higher than those in the endocarps and mesocarps. The amygdalin contents of the Stone Peach were comparatively higher than the Hikawa Hakuho and Bakhyang (P<0.05). Further, the amygdalin contents during ripening were very low or not detected. Overall, the amygdalin contents of the three peach cultivar samples (seed, endocarp, and mesocarp) increased until the fruit enlargement stage and either remained constant or decreased during ripening.