Author: Michael Robinson, educatorGrade/Audience: high school, ap human geography, professional developmentResource type: lessonSubject topic(s): population, human geographyRegion: asiaStandards: AP Human Geography Connection 2.9 Aging Populations - Explain the causes and consequences of an aging population. An aging population has political, social, and economic consequences, including the dependency ratio. Objectives: The student will identify the leading causes of death in South Korea. The student will describe the growing aging population in South Korea. The student will explain how South Korea is dealing with the aging population. The student will describe and explain possible ways of supporting the growing elderly population in South Korea. Summary: South Korea has one of the highest life expectancies in the world, which has led to a growing aged population. The number of persons over 65 is projected to continue to rise, and with the increase there are social issues the government must address. The lesson has students analyzing graphs and maps from The Atlas of Korea to identity, describe, and explain aging of the population of South Korea. Students will listen to a news report and read an editorial to help them determine solutions to this growing problem in South Korea.

In 2025, the total population of South Korea is projected to be around ***** million. In thirty years, the number of people aged 15 to 64 is estimated to decrease by one-third, while the number of older adults is anticipated to more than double. Additionally, the overall population is expected to decline by around *** million people by that time. Declining birth rate Several factors are contributing to the expected demographic changes in South Korea. Firstly, the birth rate has been declining for years. As of 2024, South Korea had the lowest fertility rate in the world. This trend continues despite the efforts of successive governments to encourage young people to have children. An increasing number of South Korean women are prioritizing their careers, often choosing to focus on work rather than starting a family at a young age. While the employment rate for South Korean women is still lower than that of men, it has steadily risen over the past decade. Increase in life expectancy Secondly, life expectancy in South Korea has steadily increased due to improved living standards and healthcare. The average life expectancy at birth for South Koreans has risen from less than 75 years to almost 83 years over the past twenty years. As a result, the proportion of people aged 65 and older has grown from less than ** percent to around ** percent in the last decade.

In South Korea, approximately 70.69 percent of the population was between 15 and 64 years old in 2023, while those above the age of 64 made up around 18.34 percent. The youngest generation made up an even smaller percentage than the elderly, but were the only group that did not increase in size over the last decade, partly due to a decrease in births since 2007. Reasons for fewer children While it is not always the case that family sizes shrink when there are less births per woman, the fertility rate in South Korea is undisputably decreasing overall and less children are born. The reasons people cite for having fewer children vary greatly by gender and marital status in South Korea: For example, more married people than singles - and of those more married women than men - say that the difficulty of maintaining a work life balance is the largest concern for them. Meanwhile, men express more economic concerns about child support, and notably more singles nowadays say they feel no need to have children.

In line with well-known subjective measures of health, such as self-rated health and subjective life expectancy, an individual’s belief about future security provided by the government could also be an important factor affecting his life expectancy. The aim of this study was to use the response of the elderly Korean population in regards to the National Aging Security System (NASS), and assess its association with the risk of mortality even with SRH included in the analysis. Data from the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA) from 2006 to 2016 were assessed using longitudinal data analysis and 10,254 research subjects were included at baseline in 2006. To analyze the association between belief about future possibility of NASS and all-cause mortality, Cox proportional hazards model was used. In terms of the future possibility of NASS, people who thought more negatively displayed greater risk of mortality at the end of the follow-up. With the Positive group as reference: Moderate group showed a 18% increase (HR = 1.178, 95% CI: 1.022, 1.357), and Negative groups showed a 19% increase (HR = 1.192, 95% CI: 1.043, 1.362). The results of our study showed that people’s belief regarding future security could be associated with mortality rates. Our finding is important, because it provides additional support to the importance of considering subjective measures of health in epidemiological research. Furthermore, the findings of our research could be useful in terms of future policy making.

This data package includes the underlying data to replicate the charts and calculations presented in Migration or stagnation: Aging and economic growth in Korea today, the world tomorrow, PIIE Working Paper 24-18.

If you use the data, please cite as:

Clemens, Michael. 2024. Migration or stagnation: Aging and economic growth in Korea today, the world tomorrow. PIIE Working Paper 24-18. Washington: Peterson Institute for International Economics.

BackgroundCURB65 and CRB65 score are simple and popular methods to estimate the mortality in patients with community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). Although there has been a global increase in life expectancy and population ageing, we are still using the same age threshold derived from patients in late 1990s to calculate the scores. We sought to assess the implication of using higher age threshold using Korean population data and a single center hospital records.MethodsUsing Korean National Health Insurance Service-National Sample Cohort (NHIS-NSC), we analyzed annual age distribution of CAP patients in Korea from 2005 to 2013 and report how patients aged >65 years increased over time. We also assessed annual change in test characteristics of various age threshold in Korean CAP population. Using a single center hospital registry of CAP patients (2008–2017), we analyzed test characteristics of CURB65 and CRB65 scores with various age thresholds.Results116,481 CAP cases were identified from NHIS-NSC dataset. The proportion of patients aged >65 increased by 1.01% (95% CI, 0.70%-1.33%, P

According to Cognitive Market Research, the Global Bladder scanner market Size will be USD XX Billion in 2023 and is set to achieve a market size of USD XX Billion by the end of 2031 growing at a CAGR of XX% from 2024 to 2031.

• The global Bladder scanners market will expand significantly by XX% CAGR between 2024 and 2031.

• The portable bladder scanner segment is estimated to dominate the Bladder Scanner Market due to its versatility, convenience, and the increased demand

• The urology segment is estimated to dominate the Bladder Scanner Market driven by the rising prevalence of urological illnesses.

• The hospitals & clinics segment is estimated to dominate the market over the forecast period. Hospitals and clinics have a greater patient turnover because they treat acute and chronic illnesses requiring precise and frequent bladder examinations

• North America has the highest growth rate in the bladder scanners market.

• Technological developments in bladder scanners is one of the upcoming key trends in the bladder scanners market. CURRENT SCENARIO OF THE BLADDER SCANNER MARKET

Key Driving factors of the Bladder scanner market

Growing Aging Population to fuel Global Demand for Bladder Scanners 

The elderly population is susceptible to a range of urinary disorders that are multifactorial in origin, especially urinary incontinence and urinary retention disorders. Functional impairment bladder scanners act as valuable tools in the investigation of urinary disorders. Presence of large numbers of elderly individuals has led to an increase in the patient pool in major regions of the world.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), the global aged population the number and proportion of people aged 60 years and older in the population is increasing. In 2019, the number of people aged 60 years and older was 1 billion. This number will increase to 1.4 billion by 2030 and 2.1 billion by 2050. This increase is occurring at an unprecedented pace and will accelerate in coming decades, particularly in developing countries.

The global geriatric population is projected to increase at the fastest rate in developed countries such as the U.S., the U.K., and Japan. Brazil, China, Thailand, and South Korea are likely to account for large share of geriatric population in the shortest span of time in the near future. The aging population is more prone to various age-related as well as chronic diseases. Thus, rapid growth in geriatric population in several countries is driving the demand for bladder scanners.

Additionally, a Frontiers in Public Health article titled "A Cross-Sectional Assessment of Urinary Tract Infections Among Geriatric Patients: Prevalence, Medication Regimen Complexity, and Factors Associated with Treatment Outcomes" published in October 2021 stated that Urinary tract infections, which account for around 25% of all diseases among older individuals, are estimated to be the cause of 7 million hospital visits, 1 million emergency visits, and 100,000 hospitalizations annually.

According to reports, the frequency of UTIs in older men and women ranges from one infection every 14 to 20 person-years; this high incidence of UTIs is further driving the market's growth. (Source:https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2021.657199/full)

An increase in urological dysfunction incidence driving the world market for bladder scanners 

Many people worldwide are currently afflicted with various ailments, including neurological, urological, and cardiovascular. To determine the etiology and state of the dysfunction or disorder, patients must have a thorough diagnosis. Urodynamic examinations and diagnosis are necessary for the majority of patients, particularly those with neurological illnesses, multiple sclerosis, urine incontinence, and those undergoing prostate or genital surgery. Urinary scanning technology is in greater demand due to the rise in these chronic illnesses.

According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, currently, around 20 million women and 6 million men suffer from urinary incontinence in the U.S. (Source:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8630428/)

As per the National Health Service (NHS), 3 million to 6 million people in the U.K. suffer from some degree of urinary incontinence each year. Thus...

AbstractSarcopenia is characterized by the generalized and progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength with age. Due to the rapid growth of the global elderly population, it has become necessary to better understand the factors associated with the aging process. Therefore, to describe the frequency and distribution of such factors, including sarcopenia, it is essential to understand the issues connected with its occurrence and provide health care to the elderly. The aim of this review was to show the summary findings of epidemiological population-based studies on sarcopenia prevalence among community-dwelling elderly people, including the socio-demographic characteristics of the populations studied and the difference in outcomes between genders. The findings of six cross-sectional studies performed between 2002 and 2014 in the United States, United Kingdom, Brazil, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan were described. It was found from assessment of these six studies that sarcopenia is highly prevalent in the population aged over 60 and in both genders. Prevalence was higher among women in five of the six studies. Japan had the highest prevalence, followed by Brazil. Sarcopenia increased with age in all the studies and was associated with several health problems. It was difficult to establish a standardized assessment of sarcopenia, mainly due to the particularities of each population, an essential feature to be considered when reading studies about the prevalence of this syndrome.

The statistic shows the 20 countries with the lowest fertility rates in 2024. All figures are estimates. In 2024, the fertility rate in Taiwan was estimated to be at 1.11 children per woman, making it the lowest fertility rate worldwide. Fertility rate The fertility rate is the average number of children born per woman of child-bearing age in a country. Usually, a woman aged between 15 and 45 is considered to be in her child-bearing years. The fertility rate of a country provides an insight into its economic state, as well as the level of health and education of its population. Developing countries usually have a higher fertility rate due to lack of access to birth control and contraception, and to women usually foregoing a higher education, or even any education at all, in favor of taking care of housework. Many families in poorer countries also need their children to help provide for the family by starting to work early and/or as caretakers for their parents in old age. In developed countries, fertility rates and birth rates are usually much lower, as birth control is easier to obtain and women often choose a career before becoming a mother. Additionally, if the number of women of child-bearing age declines, so does the fertility rate of a country. As can be seen above, countries like Hong Kong are a good example for women leaving the patriarchal structures and focusing on their own career instead of becoming a mother at a young age, causing a decline of the country’s fertility rate. A look at the fertility rate per woman worldwide by income group also shows that women with a low income tend to have more children than those with a high income. The United States are neither among the countries with the lowest, nor among those with the highest fertility rate, by the way. At 2.08 children per woman, the fertility rate in the US has been continuously slightly below the global average of about 2.4 children per woman over the last decade.

Temporal trend of clinical characteristics of patients with incident heart failure.

BackgroundStroke survivors often take multiple medications (polypharmacy), raising concerns about falls and mortality in older adults. This study investigated whether Korean Medicine (KM)—primarily acupuncture—is associated with fall risk and mortality among older adults with stroke and polypharmacy.MethodsA population-based retrospective cohort study using South Korea’s National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) claims database. Adults aged 65 or older with a first stroke in 2015 were included if they had five or more prescribed medications (polypharmacy) or ten or more (hyper-polypharmacy) for at least 270 days. KM users received acupuncture or electroacupuncture (≥3 outpatient visits or ≥1 inpatient stay) within a year of stroke onset. The primary outcome was falls resulting in fracture; the secondary outcome was all-cause mortality—both assessed over 3 years. Propensity score matching balanced demographics, comorbidities, and medication use. Cox proportional hazards and subgroup analyses were conducted. Subgroup and sensitivity analyses explored effect modification.ResultsAmong 25,034 older stroke patients, 10,011 had polypharmacy; of those, 6,809 used KM. After matching, 3,127 KM users were compared with 3,127 non-users. KM users with polypharmacy had a higher rate of falls but lower all-cause mortality than non-users. In hyper-polypharmacy, KM use did not significantly affect falls but was associated with lower mortality. Sensitivity analyses of the unmatched cohort, alternative outcome definitions, and interactions yielded consistent patterns.ConclusionIn older adults with stroke and polypharmacy, KM may improve functional recovery and mobility, potentially increasing falls if balance training is inadequate, yet simultaneously confer survival advantages—perhaps through neuro-immune or systemic effects—irrespective of medication load. Among the more frail hyper-polypharmacy group, KM reduced mortality without altering falls, suggesting that functional gains and competing-risk dynamics differ by medication intensity. Prospective studies with granular functional measures, drug–drug interaction data, and formal competing-risk models are needed to optimize the safe integration of KM into comprehensive stroke care.

Disease codes and definitions associated with periodontal diseases. (XLSX 9 kb)

ObjectiveThis epidemiological study (1) identified factors associated with impaired fasting glucose using 3,019 subjects (≥30 years old and

Health expenditure after the incidence of colorectal cancer.

Generalized estimating equations analysis on the association between long-term care hospital and health expenditure.

ObjectivePolypharmacy is widespread in the elderly because of their multiple chronic health problems. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence and predictors associated with polypharmacy in a nationally representative sample of Korean elderly individuals.MethodsWe used the Korea Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service – National Patient Sample (HIRA-NPS) data from 2010 and 2011. We used information on 319,185 elderly patients (aged 65 years or older) between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2011 from the HIRA-NPS database. We defined ‘polypharmacy’ as the concurrent use of 6 medications or more per person, ‘major polypharmacy’ as 11 medications or more, and ‘excessive polypharmacy’ as 21 medications or more. The frequency and proportion (%) and their 95% confidence intervals were presented according to the polypharmacy definition. Polypharmacy was visualized by the Quantum Geographic Information Systems (QGIS) program to describe regional differences in patterns of drug use. Multivariate ordinal logistic regression was performed to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) to investigate the risk factors for polypharmacy.ResultsOf the Korean elderly studied, 86.4% had polypharmacy, 44.9% had major polypharmacy and 3.0% had excessive polypharmacy. Polypharmacy was found to be primarily concentrated in the Southwest region of the country. Significant associations between polypharmacy and the lower-income Medical Aid population (OR = 1.52, 95% CI 1.47, 1.56) compared with National Health Insurance patients was observed.ConclusionsNationwide efforts are needed for managing polypharmacy among Korean elderly patients. In particular, a national campaign and education to promote appropriate use of medicines for the Medical Aid population is needed.

Demographic and clinical characteristics of Korean population, aged 19 years and older, in 2010–2013 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.

BackgroundDepression is a widely prevalent, often recurrent condition. To analyze the regional differences in depressive symptoms over time, we investigated urban–rural differences in change in depression over time in South Korea and the association between healthy aging and depressive symptoms among middle-aged and older adults.MethodsData collected in the Korean Longitudinal Study of Aging, from 2006 to 2020, of adult participants aged ≥45 years without depressive symptoms were analyzed. Healthy aging was defined under five principal components: absence of chronic disease, good physical function, normal cognitive function, active social engagement, and good psychological adaptation. Depressive symptoms were measured using the short version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Using the Andersen-Gill model for recurrent time-to-event, we examined the effect of healthy aging on depressive symptoms, with a subgroup analysis based on the residential area.ResultsOf the 7,708 participants, 78.2% lived in urban areas and 39.4% achieved healthy aging. In 2008, rural residents had a higher incidence of depressive symptoms (rural 11.8%; urban 8.9%); however, after 2016, the depressive symptoms of urban residents gradually increased (rural 6.4%; urban 12.1%). Unhealthy aging (adjusted hazard ratio = 3.04, 95% confidence interval: 2.72–3.39) and urban residence (adjusted hazard ratio = 1.15, 95% confidence interval: 1.06–1.24) were risk factors for depressive symptoms. The subgroup analysis revealed that individuals who did not achieve healthy aging had an increased risk of depressive symptoms, regardless of their residential area (hazard ratio [95% confidence interval]: urban, 3.13 [2.75–3.55]; rural 2.59 [2.05–3.28]).ConclusionAs urbanization accelerates, urban residents have a higher risk of depressive symptoms than rural residents. Healthy aging is an essential factor in reducing depressive symptoms. To achieve healthy aging, appropriate interventions and policies that target the middle-aged adults and gradually extend to older adults are needed, considering individual and regional factors.

IntroductionThe suicide rate of middle-aged adults has increased rapidly, which is a significant public health concern. A depressed mood and suicidal ideation are significant risk factors for suicide, and non-pharmacological interventions such as exercise therapy have been suggested as potential treatments. Walking is a feasible and accessible form of exercise therapy for middle-aged adults.MethodsWe conducted a study based on the Seventh Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2016–2018) data of 6,886 general middle-aged adults in South Korea to investigate the relationships of walking exercise with depressed mood and suicidal ideation. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to adjust for confounding variables. Sampling weights were applied to obtain estimates for the general Korean population.ResultsParticipants who walked ≥5 days per week had a significantly lower odds ratio (OR) for depressed mood [OR = 0.625, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.424–0.921, p = 0.018] and suicidal ideation (OR = 0.252, 95% CI: 0.125–0.507, p 

BackgroundThe Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS) is a simple measure of global fitness validated in various populations in real-world settings. In this study, we aimed to assess the characteristics and validities of the CFS in community-dwelling older people in Korea, with the original classification tree (oCFS) and a culturally modified tree (mCFS).MethodsThe comprehensive geriatric assessment records of 1,064 individuals of the Aging Study of the Pyeongchang Rural Area were used for this study. For mCFS, we considered the dependency of the food preparations and household chores not to be deficits in the male population. The frailty index was used as a reference for construct validity. We used a composite outcome of death and institutionalization for outcome validity.ResultsThe correlation coefficients with frailty index were higher in mCFS (.535) than in oCFS (.468). The mean frailty index was lower in individuals reclassified by mCFS (5 to 4) than people who stayed in mCFS 5. The classification coefficient of mCFS was significantly higher than that of oCFS (p