Less than 50 percent of those with a BMI >30 kg/m² have ICD-9 documentation for obesity
THURSDAY, Nov. 3, 2016 (HealthDay News) — Many patients with obesity, as classified according to body mass index (BMI), have not received a formal diagnosis using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) documentation, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of The Obesity Society (ObesityWeek), held from Oct. 31 to Nov. 4 in New Orleans.
Bartolome Burguera, M.D., Ph.D., from the Cleveland Clinic, and colleagues used electronic health record data to create a cross-sectional summary of patients. Data were included for 324,199 active patients, stratified according to BMI category.
The researchers found that 37.4 percent of patients were overweight (BMI ≥25 and <29.9 kg/m²), and 23.2, 10.5, and 7.8 percent, respectively, had obesity class 1, 2, and 3 (BMI: 30 to 34.9, 35 to 39.9, and ≥40 kg/m², respectively). The prevalences of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease were increased within higher versus lower BMI categories (P < 0.0001). Only 48 percent of patients with a BMI >30 kg/m² had a documentation of an ICD-9 code for obesity. Only 75 percent of patients with a BMI >40 kg/m² had an ICD-9 code for obesity.
“The disease of obesity is very prevalent yet too often underdiagnosed, which could be an important barrier to getting initial care,” Burguera said in a statement. “By providing a formal diagnosis, we may be able to help people get the treatment they need to lose weight and get healthy.”
The study was funded by Novo Nordisk.
Press Release
More Information
Copyright © 2016 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
