The Impact of Complications on Healthcare Costs in Obesity: Outcomes of a Pharmacoeconomic Weight Loss Model

OBJECTIVES: The World Health Organisation European Regional Obesity Report revealed that Turkey was ranked the first country in Europe to have an overweight and obesity rate. In this study, the impact of obesity on public health was evaluated from the perspective of private health institutions and in terms of the financial burden with a weight loss pharmacoeconomic model.

METHODS: A micro-costing approach was used to estimate the direct healthcare costs of 10 obesity-related comorbidities from the perspective of private healthcare providers in Turkey. A survey was conducted on a representative sample of physicians in Turkey to determine resource utilization rates for comorbidities in expenditures. The unit costs of each cost item were analysed for type A, B, and C private hospitals. Costs in the different categories were obtained by multiplying the unit costs by the health resource utilisation rate.

RESULTS: When the obesity-related complications were stratified according to weight loss rate, 5%, 10%, and 20%, a higher cost reduction was observed in the 40–49, 50–59, and 60–69 age groups. It should be noted that this decrease in healthcare expenditures was detected in older age groups (40 to 69) and not in individuals between 20 to 39 years. Another analysis of the weight loss rate revealed that the decrease was highest in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus costs. The effects of weight loss on reducing the cost of obesity-related complications indicated that the highest cost reduction was on T2DM, dyslipidemia and CKD, respectively. Obesity-related complications constituted 28.87% of total costs in Segment A hospitals, 29.13% in Segment B hospitals, and 28.54% in Segment C hospitals.

CONCLUSIONS: The current pharmacoeconomic model indicated that complications were the major cost drivers in obesity. Weight loss decreased healthcare expenditures significantly in obese patients, and T2DM was the leading cause in all age groups.