All issues > Volume 35(1); 1992

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 1992;35(1):80-87. Published online January 15, 1992.

Incidence Estimation of Leukemia among Korean Children

Hong Hoe HH Koo¹, Hee Young HY Shin¹, Hyo Seop HS Ahn¹, Yoon-Ok YO Ahn²

¹Department of Pediatrics, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
²Department of Preventive Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Abstract

Leukemia is a neoplasm arising from the malignant transformation of hematopoietic cells. The incidence data of leukemia have not been available for Korean as a whole. The present study was therefore undertaken in order to estimate the incidence of childhood leukemia among Korean. The study population of this investigation was the beneficiaries of the Korea Medical Insurance Corporation(KMIC) during the period of 1986-987. The insured people of KMIC, which has been estalished in 1977, are the government employees, the pensioners, and the private school teachers and staffs. As of December 31, 1986, the total number of beneficiaries, the insured and their dependents, was 4,328,850 which is estimated about 10% of whole Korean population. The findings obtained were as follows: 1) The distribution of cases of leukemia by type and sex. There were a male predominance in all types of leukemia with the male: female ratio being 2:1. Relative frequency of leukemias was as follows: ALL 50%, AML 40%, CML 10%. 2) The age-specific annual incidence rate of leukemia among Korean children by sex. The crude incidence rates of leukemia among Korean were estimated to be 2.73 per 100,000 population (95% C.I: 0.45-8.48). The corresponding age standardized rates (using world standard population) were 2.75 (95% C.I: 0.46-8.51). Coparing to other countries and regions, Korean had a low incidence of leukemia. 3) The age-related incidence rates of the various types of leukemia were estimated and analyzed in term sex.

Keywords :Incidence rate, Leukemia, Childhood, Korean