Socio-demographic factors and medical service utilization of intermittent explosive disorder in Korea: Nationwide health insurance claims database study, 2002-2017

Purpose To determine socio-demographic characteristics, comorbid disorders of intermittent explosive disorder (IED) patients and their medical service use via National Health Insurance Service claim data in South Korea. Methods Data from the Korean Health Insurance data, a national medical record covering over 99% of the national population, were analyzed. Chi-square analysis was used to determine the distribution of IED patients across socio-demographic factors, such as gender, age, economic status, and others. A correlation test was done to avoid multicollinearity. Finally, a hierarchical multiple regression analysis was done to examine the linear relationship between IED patients' socio-demographic factors and medical service utilization. Results First, IED diagnoses have steadily increased over the last 17 years. Second, IED patients are most likely to be men, young adults in their 20s, and polarized in terms of their economic status, either with the highest economic status or the lowest. Finally, the socio-demographic characteristics of patients actively seeking medical treatment were inconsistent with those diagnosed with IED. Conclusions Considering that IED patients are steadily increasing, and the discrepancy is found between the most vulnerable population and the medical service-utilizing population, more public awareness and appropriate intervention should be provided.