Prevalence and healthcare costs of obesity-related comorbidities: evidence from an electronic medical records system in the United States

The total healthcare costs were measured in each year. The association between annual costs and ORCs was assessed by a regression, which jointly considered all the ORCs. The per-person incremental costs of a single comorbidity, without any of the other ORCs, were calculated.

The population-level economic burden was the product of each ORC’s incremental costs and the annual prevalence of the ORC among 100,000 individuals. The prevalence of ORCs was stratified by obesity status to estimate the economic burden among 100,000 individuals with obesity and among those without. Results: This study identified 56,895 adults (mean age = 47 years; mean BMI = 29.6 kg/m 2 ).

The annual prevalence of ORCs ranged from 0.5% for pulmonary embolism (PE) to 41.8% for dyslipidemia. The per-person annual incremental costs of a single ORC ranged from $120 for angina to $1665 for PE. Hypertensive diseases (HTND), dyslipidemia, and osteoarthritis were the three most expensive ORCs at the population level; each responsible for ≥$18 million annually among 100 000 individuals.

HTND and osteoarthritis were much more costly among individuals with obesity than those without obesity. Limitations: Data were from a small geographic region. Conclusions: ORCs are associated with substantial economic burden, especially for those requiring continuous treatments.