Design and Framework of JROAD-DPC　- A Japanese Nationwide Registry Linking Diagnosis Procedure Combination Data With Cardiovascular Quality Metrics.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Comprehensive monitoring of cardiovascular disease (CVD) is essential in rapidly aging societies such as Japan. The Japanese Circulation Society (JCS) launched the Japanese Registry Of All cardiac and vascular Diseases-Diagnosis Procedure Combination (JROAD-DPC) registry, linking annual JROAD questionnaires with nationwide DPC administrative claims to enable patient-level analyses of hospitalized CVD care. This Protocol Paper presents a comprehensive overview of the registry.

Methods and results

Using anonymized data (April 2012-March 2023), we described temporal trends in patient demographics, principal CVD diagnoses, major interventions, disease-specific severity, and hospital characteristics. From FY2012-FY2022, participating facilities increased from 610 to 860, with registered patients more than doubling. Median age rose from 73.0 to 75.0 years; patients aged ≥90 years nearly quadrupled. The proportion of angina pectoris admissions declined (26.8% to 11.7%), while absolute numbers remained stable. Atrial fibrillation/flutter admissions rose in both proportion (4.1% to 5.9%) and absolute number. Heart failure admissions increased steadily, with its proportion showing a U-shaped trend. Catheter ablations for atrial fibrillation/flutter increased over fivefold, exceeding 64,000, while percutaneous coronary interventions for acute myocardial infarction surpassed 46,000.

Conclusions

JROAD-DPC now captures over 1.5 million annual CVD hospitalizations, providing a nationwide, large-scale longitudinal view of cardiovascular care in Japan. Its scale and validated coding enable robust analyses of trends and outcomes, supporting national CVD policy evaluation and improvement.

SUBMITTER: Shibata T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12782913 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature