Background/aims: The lifestyle changes that have accompanied economic growth have influenced disease patterns in Korea. Changing patterns of gastrointestinal (GI) diseases over the past two decades were investigated in the present study.
Methods: Data from inpatients with specific GI diseases, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases code, were extracted from the database at a tertiary medical facility for 1990, 1996, and 2006.
Results: Admission rates for GI diseases increased between 1990 and 2006. The most prevalent disease in 1990 was gastric cancer, followed by appendicitis and colorectal cancer. However, by 2006, gastric cancer, colon cancer, and colon adenoma or polyps had become the most prevalent diseases. Although gastric cancer showed a decreasing trend, the rate of colon cancer doubled over two decades. Furthermore, rates of detection and endoscopic treatment of early gastric cancer and adenoma of the stomach and colon have increased noticeably. Newly emerging diseases include inflammatory bowel disease and gastroesophageal reflux. There was no change in the incidence of peptic ulcer, but ulcer-related complications and the numbers treated surgically decreased.
Conclusions: The findings of this study indicate that the clinical trends of GI diseases in Korea have changed in a similar way to those in the West. Early detection of a GI neoplasm will continue to increase with the establishment of cancer-screening programs, resulting in a rising need for minimally invasive treatments.
Keywords: Epidemiology; Gastrointestinal diseases; Korea; Trends.