Four out of five South Koreans in their 20s with high blood pressure are unaware they have the condition, government data showed. Awareness and treatment rates for diabetes and high cholesterol are also low among younger adults, prompting calls for people to start checking and managing their blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels in their 20s to reduce the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease after age 50.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said on the 1st that it will run the "Know Your Numbers - Red Circle Campaign" with local governments nationwide this month to mark cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease prevention week. This year's campaign focuses on encouraging people in their 20s through 40s to check their blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels early.
According to the agency's Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, only 22.1% of people in their 20s with high blood pressure had been diagnosed by a doctor between 2022 and 2024. That means about four out of five people in that age group with the condition do not know they have it. By contrast, awareness rates for high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol among all adults aged 19 and over each exceed 70%.
Treatment rates were even lower. Among people in their 20s with high blood pressure, 20.0% took antihypertensive medication for 20 or more days a month. The treatment rate was 32.6% for diabetes and just 8.5% for high cholesterol. That means many people with these conditions either do not know about them or are not receiving appropriate treatment.
The three conditions, however, rise sharply with age. As of 2024, one in two adults aged 60 and over had high blood pressure and high cholesterol, while one in four had diabetes. Prevalence rates for all three conditions among adults have generally trended upward over the past decade.
The disease burden is also growing. Medical spending on high blood pressure reached 4.5 trillion won ($3.1 billion) last year and diabetes 3.3 trillion won ($2.3 billion), ranking first and second among single diagnoses. Heart disease and cerebrovascular disease were the second and fourth leading causes of death in the country last year.
Through local governments across the country, the agency will offer blood pressure and blood sugar screenings and health counseling for one month, along with outreach events at workplaces, universities and public spaces frequented by people in their 20s to 40s. An online program allowing people to check their vascular health is also available on the National Health Information Portal.
"Cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases require consistent management even before symptoms appear," said Lim Seung-kwan, commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. "Because awareness and treatment rates among younger age groups are low, people should pay attention to and manage their blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol levels starting in their 20s."
