How common are obesity-linked comorbidities by age?
Among ~6.9 million insured Americans, obesity diagnoses carried much higher hypertension, dyslipidemia, depression/anxiety, and prediabetes rates—especially stark in ages 18–39.
Source
Prevalence of complications and comorbidities associated with obesity: a health insurance claims analysis
Study at a glance
- Design
- Cross-sectional — US commercial insurance claims (MarketScan) ICD-10 obesity vs non-obesity comorbidity prevalence
- N
- N=6935911 · Individuals with continuous coverage 2018–2020 across four US regions
- Population
- US insured adults stratified by age (18–39, 40–64, ≥65) with/without obesity diagnosis
- Outcome
- Prevalence of cardiometabolic and other comorbidities by obesity status and age
Structured fields used in claim comparison tables when every cited study has a complete layer.
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How common are obesity-linked comorbidities by age?
These passages occur verbatim in the stored paper text. They support the points listed below; they do not verify every statement in the explanation.
6,935,911 individuals analyzed; obesity 22.0%/33.6%/34.4% by age band.
Results Of 6,935,911 individuals, people with a diagnosis of obesity accounted for 22.0%, 33.6%, and 34.4% in the 18–39 years, 40–64 years, and ≥ 65 years age groups, respectively.
Hypertension in obesity: 29.0%, 66.2%, 89.4% by age.
Comorbidities with highest prevalence in people with obesity included: (i) hypertension (18–39 years: 29.0%, 40–64 years: 66.2%, ≥ 65 years: 89.4%), (ii) dyslipidemia (18–39 years: 28.1%, 40–64 years: 65.4%, ≥ 65 years: 88.0%), (iii) depression or anxiety (18–39 years: 44.1%, 40–64 years: 39.0%, ≥ 65 years: 38.9%), and (iv) prediabetes (18–39 years: 17.1%, 40–64 years: 32.2%, ≥ 65 years: 35.3%).
What they did
Cross-sectional MarketScan claims study of continuously insured people 2018–2020, comparing ICD-10 comorbidity prevalence in those with vs without an obesity diagnosis across three age bands.
What they found
Obesity diagnosis prevalence was 22.0% (18–39), 33.6% (40–64), and 34.4% (≥65). In people with obesity, hypertension reached 29.0%/66.2%/89.4% and dyslipidemia 28.1%/65.4%/88.0% across those ages; depression/anxiety and prediabetes were also high. Relative excess vs non-obesity was greatest in the youngest group.
The limits
What it doesn't show
Claims ICD codes undercount undiagnosed obesity and cannot prove causality; commercial insurance samples miss many uninsured people.
Key terms
- Obesity diagnosis
- ICD-10-coded obesity in insurance claims.
- MarketScan
- Large US commercial/Medicare claims database used here.
- Comorbidity
- Additional diagnosed condition alongside obesity.
- Prediabetes
- Glycemic risk state often preceding type 2 diabetes.
- Cardiometabolic risk
- Hypertension, dyslipidemia, and related metabolic risks.
- Prevalence ratio
- Relative frequency of a condition in obesity vs non-obesity groups.
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Sample size was about:
Common questions
How large was the sample?
6,935,911 continuously insured individuals.
Obesity prevalence by age?
22.0%, 33.6%, and 34.4% in 18–39, 40–64, and ≥65.
Top comorbidities?
Hypertension, dyslipidemia, depression/anxiety, prediabetes.
Where was relative excess highest?
Ages 18–39 versus older groups.
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