BACKGROUND: To examine the relationship between waist circumference and future health care costs across a broad range of waist circumference values based on individual level data. METHOD: A prospective cohort of 31,840 subjects aged 50-64 years at baseline had health status, lifestyle and socio-economic aspects assessed at entry. Individual data on health care consumption and associated costs were extracted from registers for the subsequent 7 years. Participants were stratified by presence of chronic disease at entry. RESULTS: Increased waist circumference at baseline was associated with higher future health care costs. For increased and substantially increased waist circumference health care costs rise at a rate of 1.25% in women and 2.08% in men, per added centimetre above normal waistline. Thus, as an example, a woman with a waistline of 95 cm and without co-morbidities can be expected to incur an added future cost of approximately USD 397.- per annum compared to a woman in the normal waist circumference group, corresponding to 22% higher health care costs. CONCLUSIONS: Future health care costs are higher for persons who have an increased waist circumference, which suggests that there may be a potential for significant resource savings through prevention of abdominal obesity. Copyright 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.
BACKGROUND: To examine the relationship between waist circumference and future health care costs across a broad range of waist circumference values based on individual level data. METHOD: A prospective cohort of 31,840 subjects aged 50-64 years at baseline had health status, lifestyle and socio-economic aspects assessed at entry. Individual data on health care consumption and associated costs were extracted from registers for the subsequent 7 years. Participants were stratified by presence of chronic disease at entry. RESULTS: Increased waist circumference at baseline was associated with higher future health care costs. For increased and substantially increased waist circumference health care costs rise at a rate of 1.25% in women and 2.08% in men, per added centimetre above normal waistline. Thus, as an example, a woman with a waistline of 95 cm and without co-morbidities can be expected to incur an added future cost of approximately USD 397.- per annum compared to a woman in the normal waist circumference group, corresponding to 22% higher health care costs. CONCLUSIONS: Future health care costs are higher for persons who have an increased waist circumference, which suggests that there may be a potential for significant resource savings through prevention of abdominal obesity. Copyright 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.
Authors: Dorothea Kesztyüs; Anja Schreiber; Tamara Wirt; Martina Wiedom; Jens Dreyhaupt; Susanne Brandstetter; Benjamin Koch; Olivia Wartha; Rainer Muche; Martin Wabitsch; Reinhold Kilian; Jürgen M Steinacker Journal: Eur J Health Econ Date: 2011-10-11
Authors: Angel A López; Mey L Cespedes; Teofila Vicente; Matias Tomas; Miguel Bennasar-Veny; Pedro Tauler; Antoni Aguilo Journal: PLoS One Date: 2012-04-09 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Christina M Teuner; Petra Menn; Margit Heier; Rolf Holle; Jürgen John; Silke B Wolfenstetter Journal: BMC Health Serv Res Date: 2013-10-19 Impact factor: 2.655