JRD Journal of Rheumatic Diseases J Rheum Dis 2093-940X 2233-4718 The Korean College of Rheumatology 10.4078/jrd.2011.18.2.94 jrd-18-94 Original Article The Prevalence and Features of Korean Gout Patients Using the National Health Insurance Corporation Database LeeChan Hee 1 SungNa Young 2 3 Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Health Insurance Corporation Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, Korea Institute of Health Insurance and Clinical Research, National Health Insurance Corporation Ilsan Hospital, Goyang, Korea Department of Biostatistics and Computing, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea 6 2011 31 6 2011 18 2 94 100 15112010 21122010 22122010 Copyright © 2011 The Korean College of Rheumatology 2011 Abstract Objective

We wanted to evaluate the prevalence of gout and its features in Korean people using the National Health Insurance Corporation (NHIC) database.

 Methods

Using the NHIC database from 2001 to 2008, we selected the gout patients who were coded as having gout as a main diagnosis. From the total number of gout patients, we evaluated the prevalence of gout and its features.

 Results

The prevalence of gout prevalence was 0.171% in 2001 and 0.397% in 2008, and there was a 2.317 fold increased during over the 7 years. In 2008, the percentage of fifth and sixth decade patients was 48.5% and that of the male patients were 89.8% of the total gout patients. The increasing rate of the prevalence of gout during the same period was also higher in males (the male vs. female ratio was 5.3:1 in 2001 and 8.8:1 in 2008). The gout prevalence increased year by year to the eighth decade, and the peak prevalence age group was the ninth decade in 2001, the eighth decade in 2002–2005 and the seventh decade in 2006–2008. The prevalence ratio of 2008 to 2001 was higher for the males and the younger age group; that of third decade for males was 9.87, which was over the 10 times higher compared to that of the ninth decade (9.87 vs. 0.89, respectively).

 Conclusion

The prevalence of gout in 2008 using the NHIC database was 0.397%, so the prevalence of gout increased 2.317 fold over the 7 years, and nearly 90% of the gout patients were male. The increasing rate of gout prevalence was higher in the males and the younger age group.

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Gout prevalence in 2001∼2008.

Gout prevalence of the total (A) males (B) and females (C) in 2001∼2008 according to the age group.

Number of gout patients and the prevalence in 2001–2008

Year Total Male Female
Gout patient (n) Prevalence∗ (%) Gout patient (n) Prevalence† (%) Gout patient (n) Prevalence‡ (%)
2001 80,583 0.1713 67,755 0.2887 12,828 0.0544
2002 87,586 0.1862 75,443 0.3215 12,143 0.0515
2003 110,202 0.2343 95,682 0.4078 14,520 0.0616
2004 121,661 0.2586 106,678 0.4546 14,983 0.0636
2005 131,798 0.2802 116,706 0.4973 15,092 0.0640
2006 146,098 0.3106 130,313 0.5553 15,785 0.0670
2007 165,646 0.3521 148,125 0.6312 17,521 0.0743
2008 186,705 0.3969 167,718 0.7147 18,987 0.0805

(total number of gout patients)/(total population in 2005)×100,

(total number of male gout patients)/(total number of males in 2005) ×100,

(total number of female gout patients)/(total number of females in 2005)×100.

Gout prevalence per 100,000 people and the gender ratio in 2001–2008

Year Prevalence per 100,000 Prevalence ratio of males vs females‡
Total Male (n)∗ Female (n)†
2001 171.3 144.0 27.3 5.3
2002 186.2 160.4 25.8 6.2
2003 234.3 203.4 30.9 6.6
2004 258.6 226.8 31.9 7.1
2005 280.2 248.1 32.1 7.7
2006 310.6 277.0 33.6 8.3
2007 352.1 314.9 37.2 8.5
2008 396.9 356.5 40.4 8.8

(total number of male gout patients)/(total population in 2005) ×105,

(total number of female gout patients)/(total population in 2005)×105,

The reference is the females.

Comparison of the gout prevalence between 2001 and 2008 according to the age group and gender

  Age group Prevalence in 2001 (%) Prevalence in 2008 (%) Prevalence ratio of 2001 vs 2008
Total 20∼29 0.0174 0.1234 7.11
  30∼39 0.0831 0.3506 4.22
  40∼49 0.2101 0.5681 2.70
  50∼59 0.3965 0.8770 2.21
  60∼69 0.5188 0.9779 1.88
  70∼79 0.6054 0.9183 1.52
  ≥80 0.6314 0.5643 0.89
Male 20∼29 0.0214 0.2108 9.87
  30∼39 0.1344 0.6449 4.80
  40∼49 0.3538 1.0256 2.90
  50∼59 0.6791 1.5896 2.34
  60∼69 0.9586 1.8967 1.98
  70∼79 1.3258 2.0406 1.54
  ≥80 1.6893 1.4996 0.89
Female 20∼29 0.0131 0.0308 2.34
  30∼39 0.0312 0.0532 1.70
  40∼49 0.0640 0.1032 1.61
  50∼59 0.1169 0.1718 1.47
  60∼69 0.1393 0.1849 1.33
  70∼79 0.1475 0.2050 1.39
  ≥80 0.1913 0.1753 0.92