Obesity and healthcare resource utilization: comparative results from the UK and the USA

OBJECTIVES: To estimate the differences between individuals with and without obesity on healthcare resource utilization using two large electronic medical record databases. METHODS: Data from the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink and US General Electric Centricity database of adults (≥18 years) with registration date before 01/01/2010. Differences between individuals with and without obesity on 5‐year rates of Primary Care Physician (PCP) contacts, prescriptions and hospitalizations were analysed. RESULTS: The study contained 1,878,017 UK and 4,414,883 US individuals. Compared with body mass index (BMI) (18.5–24.9 kg m(−2)), significant (p < 0.0001) increases in healthcare usage were observed with increasing BMI. Individuals with BMI 30–34.9 kg m(−2) had higher PCP contact rate (rate ratios [RR] 1.27 and 1.28 for UK and USA, respectively), higher prescription rate (RR 1.61 and 1.51) and higher hospitalization rate (RR 1.10 and 1.13) than individuals with BMI 18.5–24.9 kg m(−2). Individuals with BMI >40 kg m(−2) also had higher PCP contact rate (RR 1.56 and 1.64), prescription rate (RR 2.48 and 2.14) and hospitalization rate (RR 1.27 and 1.30) than individuals with BMI 18.5–24.9 kg m(−2). CONCLUSIONS: The utilization of healthcare resources is significantly higher in individuals with obesity. A similar trend was observed in both the UK and US cohorts.