Korean J Gastroenterol.  2022 Jun;79(6):244-251. 10.4166/kjg.2022.032.

Gastrointestinal Disease in the Population Aged 80 Years and above in Korea during Recent Decades: Multi-center Cross-sectional Study

• Woo SK
• Kim SS
• Chung WC
• Kim JS
• Kim BW
• Choi HH
• Kim SS

• KMID: 2530697
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4166/kjg.2022.032

Abstract

Background/Aims
Globally, the population aged 80 years or older is growing faster due to the rising life expectancy. Korea has already entered into an advanced aged society, and a post-aged society is expected in 2025. This study evaluated the patterns of gastrointestinal disease in the population aged 80 years or older during the recent decade in Korea. Method: This study retrospectively reviewed the medical records of patients admitted to the gastrointestinal department of Suwon St. Vincent’s hospital, Incheon St. Mary’s hospital, and Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital ― general hospitals of Seoul-Gyeonggi province in Korea. It was a repeated cross-sectional study in 2009 and 2019.
Results
The number of admitted patients aged 80 years or older increased from 549 (9.0%) in 2009 to 1,073 (14.4%) in 2019 (p<0.01). As for the in-hospital mortality, there was no significant difference (p=0.25). On the other hand, the combined morbidities increased, and the duration of admission also increased (7.2±7.8 days vs. 8.1±8.2 days, p=0.03). The number of upper gastrointestinal hemorrhage and patients who are bleeding associated with drugs users increased (p<0.01). The proportion of lower gastrointestinal disease decreased (p<0.01) because of the decrease in procedure-related admissions (p<0.01). The number of those with pancreaticobiliary tract disease increased markedly (p<0.01), and the rate of cases that could not perform the procedure decreased (p=0.04).
Conclusion
The patterns of gastrointestinal disease in the population aged 80 years or older have changed in the recent decade in Korea. Hence, more preparation for this medical environment is needed.

Keyword

Aged; Gastrointestinal diseases; Hemorrhage

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Gastrointestinal symptoms of the admission patients aged 80 years and above in (A) 2009 and (B) 2019.

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  Fig. 2 Disease distribution of the admission patients aged 80 years and above in (A) 2009 and (B) 2019.

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