Koreans suffer from diseases for over 10 years

The Koreans' average span of life has greatly increased, but they live 10 years of their life, fighting various chronic diseases, a Ministry of Health and Welfare report showed.

According to the report on the result of a survey about the people's health and nutrition, Korean men's average span of life is 70.6 years, compared with women's 78.1 years. Men suffer from various diseases for 7.3 years, while women fight them for 12.7 years, showed the survey conducted every three years. The ministry polled 39,060 people from 12,189 households across the nation between 1998 and 1999.

Adults who thought they are in good shape accounted for only 42.6 percent, much lower than Sweden's 77 percent and Italy's 62 percent. Actually, the number of people suffering from chronic diseases is on a rising trend as it increased to 41 percent of the total population in 1998 from 20.5 percent in 1992 and 29.9 percent in 1995.

Diseases from which the people are suffering most are decayed teeth, skin diseases, arthritis, lumbago and hip gout, gastritis and stomach ulcer and high blood pressure. These diseases account for 54.4 percent of total diseases.

The social and economic losses caused by the diseases and accidents were estimated to amount to 7.623 trillion won or 1.7 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to the report. Productivity losses caused by various accidents, including traffic mishaps, reached 1.733 trillion won or 0.24 percent of the GDP, the report said. It also found that 35.5 percent of the questioned, or one in three, do not eat breakfast.

Song Sang-Keun songmoon@donga.com