Contact: Michael P. O'Donnell, Ph.D., M.P.H.
(248) 682-0707
modonnell@healthpromotionjournal.com

Lifestyle-Related Problems Today, Higher Medical Costs Tomorrow

Helping people make lifestyle changes, such as weight loss and smoking cessation, and helping reduce cholesterol and blood pressure, can make a difference in medical costs down the road, according to a new Korean study.

"This study showed that modifiable risk factors measured in 1992 were predictors of medical care costs in 1998," says the study's lead author Sun Ha Jee, Ph.D., M.H.S., of the Graduate School of Health Science and Management at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea.

This is the first study on the relationship between modifiable lifestyle risk factors and medical care costs in Korea, where the field of health promotion is still fairly new. Several similar studies have been conducted in the United States.

As the standard of living has improved in Korea in recent decades, more deaths now relate to lifestyle factors than to infectious diseases. Nearly 70 percent of men smoke, diets are spicy and high in salt and an increasingly sedentary population is consuming more high-fat foods. Other factors taking their toll include higher rates of binge drinking, automobile and industrial accidents and stress.

When Jee and associates examined insurance company data on nearly 130,000 men and women, the researchers found that modifiable risk factors measured in 1992 accounted for about 23 percent of men's medical costs in 1998 and nearly 9 percent of women's medical costs in 1998.

"If these values hold up under further scrutiny, they provide excellent justification for additional investment in programs to prevent and reduce these risk factors through behavioral and medical interventions," says Jee.

The study results appear in the current issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion.

In men, modifiable factors that increased medical costs included positive urinary glucose (which is associated with diabetes), high blood pressure and cholesterol and being a former smoker. Current male smokers may avoid seeking medical care until they develop health problems that force them to quit smoking, according to the study.

In women, modifiable factors that increased medical costs included positive urinary glucose, high cholesterol, lack of exercise and smoking. In general, the proportion of modifiable risk factors was much lower in women than men, the study shows.

Jee and colleagues pointed out several study limitations. Although the study was large, it consisted primarily of teachers and civil servants, and results may not be transferable to the general population. In addition, there were no measures for nutrition, stress and depression.

"If additional risk factors had been measured, it is likely that a greater portion of total medical cost would have been accounted for," notes Jee.

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The American Journal of Health Promotion is a bimonthly peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the field of health promotion. For information about the journal call (248) 682-0707 or visit the journal's Web site at www.healthpromotionjournal.com. For copies of the article, contact the Center for the Advancement of Health at 202.387.2829 or e-mail info@cfah.org