Rural Poor More Prone to Chronic Diseases

Chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension are more common among the poor and in rural areas, according to a report by the Korea Health Promotion Institute last week.

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The prevalence of diabetes in the low-income group was 13.7 percent in 2016, four percent higher than in the high-income group.

The gap widened from 2.9 percent in 2013 to 3.6 percent in 2014 and remained at the four-percent level since 2015.

Hypertension was also more prevalent in the low-income group at 31.6 percent, compared to 28.7 percent in the high-income group, but the gap narrowed down from 7.5 percent in 2015.

There was a significant difference in the prevalence of diabetes between urban and rural areas, with 10.7 percent and 14.8 percent.

But the prevalence of hypertension was practically the same at around 29 percent.

The biggest difference was in obesity among adult women. Some 31.6 percent of women in the low-income group were obese, a whopping 11.1 percentage points higher than in the high-income group. And the prevalence was 34 percent for women in rural areas, compared to 25.1 percent in the cities.