Clinical and Economic Burden of Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease Among Medicare Fee‐For‐Service Beneficiaries
Authors' conclusion
These findings highlight the higher risk of negative clinical outcomes and costs associated with obesity among US Medicare beneficiaries.
Study context
- Population
- Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries (claims Jan 2016-Dec 2022), stratified by cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk (established, at-risk, low-risk)
- Participants
- 21,306,251 beneficiaries
- Exposure
- Obesity vs no obesity
- Outcome
- Clinical outcomes:
- HR
- Obesity vs no obesity
Methodological detailsclaims-based, adjusted for baseline covariates
- Claims-based
- Adjusted for baseline covariates
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Obesity class ≥ 1
- HR, HF-associated hospitalisation 1.92
- Obesity class ≥ 3
- HR, HF-associated hospitalisation 3.40
- Obesity class ≥ 1
- HR, T2D 1.65
- Obesity class ≥ 3
- HR, T2D 2.20
- Obesity class ≥ 1
- HR, MACE-5 1.44
- Obesity class ≥ 3
- HR, MACE-5 2.27
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | Obesity class ≥ 1 | Obesity class ≥ 3 | Without obesity | Cost ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total costs (per-patient per-month $), obesity class ≥ 1 vs without obesity | $4113 | — not stated in the abstract | $2876 | 1.43 |
| Total costs (per-patient per-month $), obesity class ≥ 3 vs without obesity | — not stated in the abstract | $5319 | $2929 | 1.82 |
— not stated in the abstract
Total costs (per-patient per-month $), obesity class ≥ 3 vs without obesity
- Costs driven by high outpatient and inpatient utilisation
CVD risk strata
- Results were consistent across CVD risk stratifications
Original publication
Clinical and Economic Burden of Obesity and Cardiovascular Disease Among Medicare Fee‐For‐Service Beneficiaries. Diabetes Obes Metab. Published 21 July 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →