Shin J, Bae YJ, Kang HT. Insurance Types and All-Cause Mortality in Korean Cancer Patients: A Nationwide Population-Based Cohort Study.
J Pers Med 2024;
14:861. [PMID:
39202052 PMCID:
PMC11355516 DOI:
10.3390/jpm14080861]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2024] [Revised: 08/05/2024] [Accepted: 08/12/2024] [Indexed: 09/03/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Economic deprivation is expected to influence cancer mortality due to its impact on screening and treatment options, as well as healthy lifestyle. However, the relationship between insurance type, premiums, and mortality rates remains unclear. This study investigated the relationship between insurance type and mortality in patients with newly diagnosed cancer using data from the Korean National Health Insurance Database.
METHODS
this retrospective cohort study included 111,941 cancer patients diagnosed between 1 January 2007 and 31 December 2008, with a median follow-up period of 13.41 years. The insurance types were categorized as regional and workplace subscribers and income-based insurance premiums were divided into tertiles (T1, T2, and T3).
RESULTS
Cox proportional hazards regression analysis adjusted for age, lifestyle factors, health metrics, and comorbidities showed workplace subscribers (n = 76,944) had a lower all-cause mortality hazard ratio (HR) (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.940 [0.919-0.961]) compared to regional subscribers (n = 34,997). Higher income tertiles (T2, T3) were associated with lower mortality compared to the T1 group, notably in male regional and workplace subscribers, and female regional subscribers.
CONCLUSION
The study identified that insurance types and premiums significantly influence mortality in cancer patients, highlighting the necessity for individualized insurance policies for cancer patients.
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