Gyeongbuk has the highest number of stomach cancer and colorectal cancer patients, while Jeonnam has the most liver and lung cancer patients.

The "2023 Regional Medical Utilization Statistics Yearbook" has been published.

This is a reference material showing which patients are more common in each region.

Among the major cancers, breast cancer patients who received hospital treatment last year were the highest, followed by stomach cancer, colon cancer, lung cancer, liver cancer, and uterine cancer.

Consistently managing my health and checking the health signals my body gives me seem to be the most important things.

If you miss the timing, it becomes very difficult to recover in many cases ㅠㅠ

Please make sure to get regular health check-ups as well~

 

Last year, the region with the highest number of gastric cancer patients per 100,000 people nationwide was Gyeongbuk, and the region with the most colorectal cancer patients was Gangwon. The highest number of liver and lung cancer patients was in Jeonnam. Breast and uterine cancers were most prevalent in Seoul and Busan, respectively.

On the 12th, the National Health Insurance Service announced the '2023 Regional Medical Utilization Statistics Yearbook.' It analyzes the number of patients treated at hospitals for the six major cancers (stomach, liver, lung, colon, breast, and uterine cancer) and other major diseases who were eligible for national health checkups last year.

Among major cancers, breast cancer had the highest number of patients treated at the hospital last year, with 495 cases per 100,000 people. Following that were stomach cancer (319 cases), colon cancer (317 cases), lung cancer (251 cases), liver cancer (158 cases), and uterine cancer (100 cases).

Looking by province, patients diagnosed with the three major cancers with high mortality rates (lung cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer) were most numerous in Jeollanam-do, Gyeongbuk, and Gangwon. Lung cancer was most common in Jeollanam-do (321 per 100,000 people) and Gyeongbuk (305), liver cancer in Jeollanam-do (253) and Gangwon (203), and colon cancer in Gangwon (411) and Gyeongbuk (355). Stomach cancer was most prevalent in Gyeongbuk (390) and Jeonbuk (380).

This is analyzed to be because these areas have a high proportion of elderly people. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, as of July this year, the proportion of the population aged 65 and over is Jeollanam-do (26.7%), Gyeongbuk (25.4%), and Gangwon (24.7%) in that order. Professor Lim Jeong-su of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Gachon University Gil Medical Center said, "Generally, lung cancer and liver cancer tend to occur more frequently in regions with a higher proportion of elderly people."

On the other hand, breast and uterine cancer patients were more prevalent in large cities. The number of breast cancer patients per 100,000 people was highest in Seoul (568) and Daejeon (510). Uterine cancer patients were most numerous in Busan (122) and Gwangju (112). Professor Jaehoon Jung of Korea University’s Department of Preventive Medicine stated, "Cancers such as breast, uterine, and thyroid are relatively common even at younger ages, and frequent hospital visits increase the likelihood of early detection, which is one of the reasons why patients are concentrated in large cities." He also mentioned, "Cancer incidence rates vary by region due to complex factors including demographic structure, living environment, dietary habits, and access to medical facilities." While genetic factors are among the causes of cancer, dietary habits such as consuming spicy and salty foods or red meat, as well as work and living environments, also have significant impacts.

Last year, among major diseases excluding cancer, the disease with the highest number of patients was periodontal disease (43,738 per 100,000 people). Large cities such as Seoul (47,170) and Gwangju (45,225) had a high number of patients. Following periodontal disease, infectious diseases (20,934), hypertension (14,770), arthritis (14,123), and mental disorders (8,460) were the most common.

The areas with the most patients receiving treatment for hypertension and diabetes were Gangwon and Jeollanam-do, which have a high elderly population. The number of hypertension patients per 100,000 people was highest in Gangwon (19,290), Jeollanam-do (17,842), and Jeonbuk (17,412). The number of diabetes patients per 100,000 people was highest in Jeollanam-do (9,506), Gangwon (9,349), and Jeonbuk (9,248).

 

<Source: Chosun Ilbo>