TY - JOUR
T1 - Hospitalization costs in Portugal among people with obesity
T2 - results from a nationwide population-based cohort 2011 to 2021
AU - Destri, Kelli
AU - Henriques, Ana Rita
AU - Mendonça, Nuno
AU - Alves, Joana
AU - Barcelos, Anabela
AU - Dias, Sara Simões
AU - Gregório, Maria João
AU - Canhão, Helena
AU - Rodrigues, Ana Maria
N1 - Funding Information:
The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was funded by the Funda\u00E7\u00E3o para Ci\u00EAncia e Tecnologia, FCT, I. P. reference SFRH (PD/BD/135589/2018) and by Comprehensive Health Research Center (CHRC) (UIDP/04923/2020).
Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2024 Destri, Henriques, Mendonça, Alves, Barcelos, Dias, Gregório, Canhão and Rodrigues.
PY - 2024/4/24
Y1 - 2024/4/24
N2 - Background: Obesity has been extensively studied over the years, primarily focusing on the physiological aspects of the disease. However, the general burden of obesity mainly the financial implications and its influence on hospitalization and length of stay have only recently garnered attention in the literature, particularly in the case of Portugal. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the association between obesity and hospitalizations in the Portuguese adult population and compare the average costs of hospitalization among participants with and without obesity. Methods: At baseline, the analytic sample consisted of 10,102 participants aged ≥18 years from the Portuguese population-based Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases Cohort (EpiDoC). Participants were then followed for up to 10 years from 2011 to 2021 in three more waves of data collection. Body mass index was derived from self-reported weight and height, and instances of hospitalization were self-reported by the participants. The associated costs for each hospitalization episode were categorized according to national legislation and valued according to the pricing for Diagnosis Related Groups. Results: Obesity was associated with more hospitalizations (for example, Obesity class I vs. normal weight: OR = 1.33 [1.14–1.55]). However, when the presence of multimorbidity was considered, this association diminished. While longer hospital length of stay was observed in individuals with higher obesity categories, this difference did not reach statistical significance. On average, the total hospitalization costs per patient with obesity amounted to €200.4 per year. Conclusion: Obesity is as a risk factor for hospitalizations and potentially with higher length of stay hospitalizations, with this effect being partially mediated by the concurrent presence of multimorbidity. Consequently, obesity constitutes an additional burden on healthcare systems. This underscores the imperative of implementing cost-effective prevention programs aimed at addressing and managing this significant public health concern.
AB - Background: Obesity has been extensively studied over the years, primarily focusing on the physiological aspects of the disease. However, the general burden of obesity mainly the financial implications and its influence on hospitalization and length of stay have only recently garnered attention in the literature, particularly in the case of Portugal. Aim: This study aimed to investigate the association between obesity and hospitalizations in the Portuguese adult population and compare the average costs of hospitalization among participants with and without obesity. Methods: At baseline, the analytic sample consisted of 10,102 participants aged ≥18 years from the Portuguese population-based Epidemiology of Chronic Diseases Cohort (EpiDoC). Participants were then followed for up to 10 years from 2011 to 2021 in three more waves of data collection. Body mass index was derived from self-reported weight and height, and instances of hospitalization were self-reported by the participants. The associated costs for each hospitalization episode were categorized according to national legislation and valued according to the pricing for Diagnosis Related Groups. Results: Obesity was associated with more hospitalizations (for example, Obesity class I vs. normal weight: OR = 1.33 [1.14–1.55]). However, when the presence of multimorbidity was considered, this association diminished. While longer hospital length of stay was observed in individuals with higher obesity categories, this difference did not reach statistical significance. On average, the total hospitalization costs per patient with obesity amounted to €200.4 per year. Conclusion: Obesity is as a risk factor for hospitalizations and potentially with higher length of stay hospitalizations, with this effect being partially mediated by the concurrent presence of multimorbidity. Consequently, obesity constitutes an additional burden on healthcare systems. This underscores the imperative of implementing cost-effective prevention programs aimed at addressing and managing this significant public health concern.
KW - economic
KW - epidemiology
KW - hospitalizations
KW - obesity
KW - public health
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1380690
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85192255551&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1380690
DO - 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1380690
M3 - Article
C2 - 38721535
SN - 2296-2565
VL - 12
JO - Frontiers in public health
JF - Frontiers in public health
M1 - 1380690
ER -