Avoidable Mortality in Korea 1997-2001: Temporal Trend and its Contribution to All-cause Mortality.

Objective: This study analyzed the mortality trends from avoidable causes in Korea from 1997 to 2021, to estimate its contribution to the overall mortality in different subgroups, including. Gender, age, and cause of disease.

Methods: The all-cause and avoidable mortality were presented as a time series plot and average annual percent change. Trend of avoidable mortality was also analyzed by subgroups, disease causes and the percentage attributed to each causes.

Results: The decline in avoidable mortality accounted for 82.6% of all-cause mortality reduction. Preventable mortality showed a more pronounced decline than treatable mortality, explaining 72.3% of the avoidable mortality reduction. In 1997-2001, avoidable death occurred in 72.2% (537,024 cases) of all-cause deaths, which declined to 60.0% (342,979 cases) in 2017-2021. The contribution of avoidable mortality in the decline of all-cause morality was greater in males (83.6%) than in females (79.3%).

Conclusion: The decline in avoidable mortality and its contribution to the all-cause mortality reduction implies general improvement of the population health in Korea. Nevertheless, the heterogenous trend within different subgroups warrants more equitable design and implementation of health services and policies.