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Diabetes

How common are obesity-linked comorbidities by age?

Bae JP, Nelson DR, Boye KS, et al. · BMC public health · 2025

Open access · cc by · source: Europe PMC

Among ~6.9 million insured Americans, obesity diagnoses carried much higher hypertension, dyslipidemia, depression/anxiety, and prediabetes rates—especially stark in ages 18–39.

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.

Key findings

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.

Methodology

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.

Limitations

Claims ICD codes undercount undiagnosed obesity and cannot prove causality; commercial insurance samples miss many uninsured people.

How this study connects

Role on claims

Each row is a claim on a concept or method page where this paper supports, challenges, or qualifies the statement. Roles are hand-checked — not a model guess.

  • QualifiesMultimorbidityconcept

    Comorbidity patterns in atrial fibrillation relate to management and outcomes.

    AF comorbidity patterning work shows how co-occurring diseases shape clinical impact beyond AF alone.

    Scope note — obesity comorbidity prevalence ≠ AF cluster study

    Limits the claim's scope: a different population, assay, or outcome.

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