Cataracts top elderly hospitalization list, rising 4-5% annually

The number of elderly patients hospitalized for cataracts and the cost of treating Alzheimer's disease are rising every year, driven by South Korea's aging population.

According to the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service's 2025 high-frequency disease statistics released Monday, senile cataracts were the leading cause of hospitalization last year, with 352,705 patients admitted.

National health insurance spending on inpatient cataract treatment reached 613.96 billion won.

The number of senile cataract patients has grown 4 to 5 percent annually, from 320,061 in 2023 to 337,270 in 2024.

Alzheimer's disease carried the highest national health insurance bill among inpatient conditions, costing 1.93 trillion won last year. Hospitalized Alzheimer's patients numbered 132,449, up 1.9 percent from 129,974 the previous year, moving the condition up one spot to ninth among the leading causes of hospitalization.

After senile cataracts, the next most common causes of hospitalization were "other gastroenteritis and colitis of infectious and unspecified origin" with 267,030 patients, followed by "pneumonia due to unspecified pathogen" with 225,346.

A recent uptick in births also lifted the ranking for "liveborn infant according to place of birth" — a diagnostic code assigned to newborns — from fifth to fourth place. Cases rose 3.4 percent to 214,542, from 207,398 the previous year.

On the outpatient side, gingivitis and periodontal disease topped the list for the second consecutive year, with nearly 19.97 million patients recorded last year. National health insurance spending on outpatient treatment for the condition was also the highest, at 2.62 trillion won.

Acute bronchitis came second with 15.89 million outpatient visits, followed by essential hypertension at 7.49 million and vasomotor and allergic rhinitis at 7.24 million.