Internal medicine

Population

Obesity

Diabetes mellitus

Endocrinology

Diabetes management

Type 2 diabetes

Abdominal obesity

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Metabolic syndrome

Gerontology

Medicine

Environmental health

Diabetes and metabolism journal

Background The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence, management, and comorbidities of diabetes among Korean adults aged 30 years and older. Methods This study used 2013 to 2016 data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a nationally-representative survey of the Korean population. Diabetes was defined as fasting glucose ≥126 mg/dL, current use of antidiabetic medication, a previous history of diabetes, or glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c) ≥6.5%. Results In 2016, 14.4% (approximately 5.02 million) of Korean adults had diabetes. The prevalence of impaired fasting glucose was 25.3% (8.71 million). From 2013 to 2016, the awareness, control, and treatment rates for diabetes were 62.6%, 56.7%, and 25.1%, respectively. People with diabetes had the following comorbidities: obesity (50.4%), abdominal obesity (47.8%), hypertension (55.3%), and hypercholesterolemia (34.9%). The 25.1%, 68.4%, and 44.2% of people with diabetes achieved HbA1c <6.5%, blood pressure <140/85 mm Hg, and low density lipoprotein cholesterol <100 mg/dL. Only 8.4% of people with diabetes had good control of all three targets. Conclusion This study confirms that diabetes is as an important public health problem. Efforts should be made to increase awareness, detection, and comprehensive management of diabetes to reduce diabetes-related morbidity and mortality. Keywords: Comorbidity; Diabetes mellitus; Hypercholesterolemia; Hypertension; Nutrition surveys; Obesity; Prevalence; Public health; Republic of Korea

Diabetes Fact Sheets in Korea, 2018: An Appraisal of Current Status