title: Temporal trend and nationwide utility for hysterectomies in Taiwan, 1997-2010.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study investigates the nationwide utilization and temporal trend of hysterectomies in Taiwan.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study used the National Health Insurance Research Database that included claims of nearly the entire population in Taiwan since the inception of the National Health Insurance program in 1995. We analyzed age-adjusted rates of hysterectomies in Taiwan from 1997 through to 2010 and compared with the rates in 16 countries of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. We also examined the utilization of various types of hysterectomies in Taiwan during this period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There was a cross-country variation in the age-standardized rate of hysterectomy: 105 per 100,000 females in Spain, 156 per 100,000 females in Taiwan, 179 per 100,000 females in 16 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development countries, and 325 per 100,000 females in the United States in 2008. The trend of the age-standardized rate of hysterectomy in Taiwan declined from 222.3 per 100,000 women in 1998 to 145.2 per 100,000 women in 2010. The most common type of hysterectomy during this period was total abdominal hysterectomy (51.2%). Subtotal hysterectomies increased by 117% (r2=0.89; p<0.01), from 672 in 1997 to 1458 in 2010; however, total hysterectomies decreased by 3.5% (r2=0.43; p=0.01), from 20,966 in 1997 to 20,230 in 2010. Laparoscopically assisted procedures (laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy and laparoscopic hysterectomy) increased 4.98-fold (r2=0.23; p=0.09), from 1453 in 1997 to 8684 in 2010. By contrast, the proportion of conventional open hysterectomies (total abdominal hysterectomy, and subtotal or supracervical abdominal hysterectomy) decreased by 36.5% (r2=0.59; p<0.01), from 17,327 in 1997 to 10,994 in 2010. The proportion of vaginal hysterectomies decreased by 29.7% (r2=0.72; p<0.01), from 2858 in 1997 to 2010 in 2010.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As in most Western countries, hysterectomy rates in Taiwan declined by year. There was a marked shift in the types of hysterectomies from 1997 through to 2010 in Taiwan. Minimally invasive surgeries and supracervical hysterectomies were more commonly adopted.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Welfare Policy, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; Research and Planning Division, Department of Health, Taipei City Government, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wei-Yi
authors.initials: WY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Kuo-How
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, National Taiwan University Hospital, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Chun
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Health and Welfare Policy, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: scwu@ym.edu.tw.
authors.forename: Shiao-Chi
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D007044:Hysterectomy / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D010535:Laparoscopy / Q000639:trends; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan
keywords: hysterectomy; laparoscopic; trend