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Summary Objective The purpose of this study was to model weight trajectories over a 5‐year time period (2012–2016) and their association with behavioural and psychosocial characteristics and health care–related experiences using data from the Patient Outcomes Research to Advance Learning (PORTAL) overweight/obesity cohort. Methods Weight trajectories for each eligible patient in the PORTAL overweight/obesity cohort (n = 2864) were identified first using growth modelling; trajectories were then grouped using a hierarchical cluster analysis. Weight trajectory clusters that emerged were compared on demographics, and predictors of cluster membership were examined. Clusters were also compared on responses to a survey assessing health behaviours, quality of life, and health care experience completed in 2015 by 49% of the total sample (n = 1391). Results Seven distinct weight trajectory clusters were identified: (a) significant weight loss then maintenance; (b) higher stable weight; (c) moderate stable weight; (d) steady weight loss then relapse; (e) weight gain then weight loss; (f) steady weight gain then maintenance; and (g) lower stable weight. Age, sex, race/ethnicity, and body mass index at baseline predicted patient's weight trajectory (P < .001). Over two thirds of patients maintained their weight over the 5‐year period. Significant weight loss then maintenance, weight gain then weight loss, and higher stable weight patients were more likely to report receiving weight counselling from their provider. Patients in the significant weight loss then maintenance and lower stable weight clusters were more likely to be physically active than the other clusters. Conclusion Findings suggest variability in patterns of weight change among adults with overweight or obesity who have access to health care and that these patterns differ on demographic, behavioural and psychosocial factors, and health care experience.

OBJECTIVE Health system data were assessed for how well they can estimate obesity prevalence in census tracts. METHODS Clinical visit data were available from two large health systems (Kaiser Permanente Washington and University of Washington Medicine) in King County, Washington, as were census tract-level obesity prevalence estimates from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The health system data were geocoded to identify each patient's tract of residence, and the cross-sectional concordance between census tract-level obesity prevalence estimates computed from the two health systems in 2005 to 2006 and the concordance between University of Washington Medicine and BRFSS from 2012 to 2016 were assessed. RESULTS The spatial distribution of obesity was similar between the health systems (Spearman r = 0.63). The University of Washington Medicine estimates of rank order correlated well with BRFSS estimates (Spearman r = 0.85), though prevalence estimates from BRFSS were lower (mean obesity prevalence = 26% for University of Washington Medicine versus 20% for BRFSS, Wilcoxon rank sum test p < 0.001). Across all data sources, obesity was more prevalent in tracts with less educational attainment. CONCLUSIONS Health system clinical weight data can reliably replicate census tract-level spatial patterns in the ranking of obesity prevalence. Health system data may be an efficient resource for geographic obesity surveillance.

Sengwee Toh,1 Robert Wellman,2 R Yates Coley,2 Casie Horgan,1 Jessica Sturtevant,1 Erick Moyneur,3 Cheri Janning,4 Roy Pardee,2 Karen J Coleman,5 David Arterburn,2 Kathleen McTigue,6 Jane Anau,2 Andrea J Cook2 On behalf of the PCORnet Bariatric Study Collaborative 1Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, USA; 2Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle, WA, USA; 3StatLog Econometrics, Inc., Montreal, QC, Canada; 4Duke Clinical and Translational Science Institute, Durham, NC, USA; 5Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Pasadena, CA, USA; 6Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Purpose: Sharing of detailed individual-level data continues to pose challenges in multicenter studies. This issue can be addressed in part by using analytic methods that require only summary-level information to perform the desired multivariable-adjusted analysis. We examined the feasibility and empirical validity of 1) conducting multivariable-adjusted distributed linear regression and 2) combining distributed linear regression with propensity scores, in a large distributed data network.Patients and methods: We compared percent total weight loss 1-year postsurgery between Roux-en-Y gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy procedure among 43,110 patients from 36 health systems in the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network. We adjusted for baseline demographic and clinical variables as individual covariates, deciles of propensity scores, or both, in three separate outcome regression models. We used distributed linear regression, a method that requires only summary-level information (specifically, sums of squares and cross products matrix) from sites, to fit the three ordinary least squares linear regression models. A comparison set of analyses that used pooled deidentified individual-level data from sites served as the reference.Results: Distributed linear regression produced results identical to those from the corresponding pooled individual-level data analysis for all variables in all three models. The maximum numericaldifference in the parameter estimate or standard error for all the variables was 3×10−11 across three models.Conclusion: Distributed linear regression analysis is a feasible and valid analytic method in multicenter studies for one-time continuous outcomes. Combining distributed regression with propensity scores via modeling offers more privacy protection and analytic flexibility. Keywords: distributed regression, propensity score, distributed data networks, privacy-protecting methods

Little is known about objective levels of sitting time (ST), patterns of ST, and physical activity (PA) among older adults before compared to during the COVID -19 pandemic. We used data from the Healthy Aging Resources to Thrive Trial to examine differences in activPAL-assessed ST, standing time, breaks from sitting, and steps in study enrollees prior to March 2020 (N = 97, % female = 60.8, % white = 81.4; Mean BMI = 35.2) compared to post-March 2020 (N = 47, % female = 70.2, % white = 72.3; Mean BMI = 36.1). During the pandemic, participants had higher sitting time (Mean = 11.5 vs. 10.7 hours/day), fewer breaks from sitting (Mean = 40 vs. 44 breaks/day), and fewer steps (Mean = 4441 vs. 5931 steps/day) than prior to the pandemic. Interventions may be needed to support older adults with obesity in recovering losses in time spent physically active.

Summary The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic is wreaking havoc on society, especially health-care systems, including disrupting bariatric and metabolic surgery. The current limitations on accessibility to non-urgent care undermine postoperative monitoring of patients who have undergone such operations. Furthermore, like most elective surgery, new bariatric and metabolic procedures are being postponed worldwide during the pandemic. When the outbreak abates, a backlog of people seeking these operations will exist. Hence, surgical candidates face prolonged delays of beneficial treatment. Because of the progressive nature of obesity and diabetes, delaying surgery increases risks for morbidity and mortality, thus requiring strategies to mitigate harm. The risk of harm, however, varies among patients, depending on the type and severity of their comorbidities. A triaging strategy is therefore needed. The traditional weight-centric patient-selection criteria do not favour cases based on actual clinical needs. In this Personal View, experts from the Diabetes Surgery Summit consensus conference series provide guidance for the management of patients while surgery is delayed and for postoperative surveillance. We also offer a strategy to prioritise bariatric and metabolic surgery candidates on the basis of the diseases that are most likely to be ameliorated postoperatively. Although our system will be particularly germane in the immediate future, it also provides a framework for long-term clinically meaningful prioritisation.

This cohort study compares the risk of operative and nonoperative interventions up to 4 years after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass vs vertical sleeve gastrectomy in patient groups matched on US region, year of surgery, body mass index category, and type 2 diabetes status., Key Points Question Do patients have greater risk of subsequent operative intervention after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) or vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG)? Findings Among 13 027 patients in this cohort study, compared with matched counterparts undergoing RYGB, patients undergoing VSG had lower overall risk of subsequent operative and nonoperative interventions, including biliary procedures, abdominal wall hernia repair, other abdominal operations, and endoscopy, up to 4 years after surgery. Meaning Patients deciding between RYGB and VSG should consider not only the clinical effectiveness of these 2 procedures but also the risk for subsequent operative and nonoperative interventions., Importance There are few nationwide studies comparing the risk of reintervention after contemporary bariatric procedures. Objective To compare the risk of intervention after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) vs vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG). Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study used a nationwide US commercial insurance claims database. Adults aged 18 to 64 years who underwent a first RYGB or VSG procedure between January 1, 2010, and June 30, 2017, were matched on US region, year of surgery, most recent presurgery body mass index (BMI) category (based on diagnosis codes), and baseline type 2 diabetes. The prematch pool included 4496 patients undergoing RYGB and 8627 patients undergoing VSG, and the final weighted matched sample included 4476 patients undergoing RYGB and 8551 patients undergoing VSG. Exposures Bariatric surgery procedure type (RYGB vs VSG). Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was any abdominal operative intervention after the index procedure. Secondary outcomes included the following subtypes of operative intervention: biliary procedures, abdominal wall hernia repair, bariatric conversion or revision, and other abdominal operations. Nonoperative outcomes included endoscopy and enteral access. Time to first event was compared using multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression modeling. Results Among 13 027 patients, the mean (SD) age was 44.4 (10.3) years, and 74.1% were female; 13.7% had a preoperative BMI between 30 and 39.9, 45.8% had a preoperative BMI between 40 and 49.9, and 24.2% had a preoperative BMI of at least 50. Patients were followed up for up to 4 years after surgery (median, 1.6 years; interquartile range, 0.7-3.2 years), with 41.9% having at least 2 years of follow-up and 16.3% having at least 4 years of follow-up. Patients undergoing VSG were less likely to have any subsequent operative intervention than matched patients undergoing RYGB (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR], 0.80; 95% CI, 0.72-0.89) and similarly were less likely to undergo biliary procedures (aHR, 0.77; 95% CI, 0.67-0.90), abdominal wall hernia repair (aHR, 0.60; 95% CI, 0.47-0.75), other abdominal operations (aHR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.61-0.82), and endoscopy (aHR, 0.54; 95% CI, 0.49-0.59) or have enteral access placed (aHR, 0.58; 95% CI, 0.39-0.86). Patients undergoing VSG were more likely to undergo bariatric conversion or revision (aHR, 1.83; 95% CI, 1.19-2.80). Conclusions and Relevance In this nationwide study, patients undergoing VSG appeared to be less likely than matched patients undergoing RYGB to experience subsequent abdominal operative interventions, except for bariatric conversion or revision procedures. Patients considering bariatric surgery should be aware of the increased risk of subsequent procedures associated with RYGB vs VSG as part of shared decision-making around procedure choice.

Importance Bariatric surgery has been associated with improvements in health in patients with severe obesity; however, it is unclear whether these health benefits translate into lower health care expenditures. Objective To examine 10-year health care expenditures in a large, multisite retrospective cohort study of veterans with severe obesity who did and did not undergo bariatric surgery. Design, Setting, and Participants A total of 9954 veterans with severe obesity between January 1, 2000, and September 30, 2011, were identified from veterans affairs (VA) electronic health records. Of those, 2498 veterans who underwent bariatric surgery were allocated to the surgery cohort. Sequential stratification was used to match each patient in the surgery cohort with up to 3 patients who had not undergone bariatric surgery but were of the same sex, race/ethnicity, diabetes status, and VA regional network and were closest in age, body mass index (calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared), and comorbidities. A total of 7456 patients were identified and allocated to the nonsurgery (control) cohort. The VA health care expenditures among the surgery and nonsurgery cohorts were estimated using regression models. Data were analyzed from July to August 2018 and in April 2019. Interventions The bariatric surgical procedures (n = 2498) included in this study were Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (1842 [73.7%]), sleeve gastrectomy (381 [15.3%]), adjustable gastric banding (249 [10.0%]), and other procedures (26 [1.0%]). Main Outcomes and Measures The study measured total, outpatient, inpatient, and outpatient pharmacy expenditures from 3 years before surgery to 10 years after surgery, excluding expenditures associated with the initial bariatric surgical procedure. Results Among 9954 veterans with severe obesity, 7387 (74.2%) were men; the mean (SD) age was 52.3 (8.8) years for the surgery cohort and 52.5 (8.7) years for the nonsurgery cohort. Mean total expenditures for the surgery cohort were $5093 (95% CI, $4811-$5391) at 7 to 12 months before surgery, which increased to $7448 (95% CI, $6989-$7936) at 6 months after surgery. Postsurgical expenditures decreased to $6692 (95% CI, $6197-$7226) at 5 years after surgery, followed by a gradual increase to $8495 (95% CI, $7609-$9484) at 10 years after surgery. Total expenditures were higher in the surgery cohort than in the nonsurgery cohort during the 3 years before surgery and in the first 2 years after surgery. The expenditures of the 2 cohorts converged 5 to 10 years after surgery. Outpatient pharmacy expenditures were significantly lower among the surgery cohort in all years of follow-up ($509 lower at 3 years before surgery and $461 lower at 7 to 12 months before surgery), but these cost reductions were offset by higher inpatient and outpatient (nonpharmacy) expenditures. Conclusions and Relevance In this cohort study of 9954 predominantly older male veterans with severe obesity, total health care expenditures increased immediately after patients underwent bariatric surgery but converged with those of patients who had not undergone surgery at 10 years after surgery. This finding suggests that the value of bariatric surgery lies primarily in its associations with improvements in health and not in its potential to decrease health care costs.

Objective The aim of this study was to examine the prescribing patterns and use of antiobesity medications in a large cohort of patients using data from electronic health records. Methods Pharmacy- and patient-level electronic health record data were obtained on 2,248,407 adults eligible for weight-loss medications from eight geographically dispersed health care organizations. Results A total of 29,964 patients (1.3% of total cohort) filled at least one weight-loss medication prescription. This cohort was 82.3% female, with median age 44.9 years and median BMI 37.2 kg/m2 . Phentermine accounted for 76.6% of all prescriptions, with 51.7% of prescriptions being filled for ≥ 120 days and 33.8% filled for ≥ 360 days. There was an increase of 32.9% in medication days for all medications in 2015 compared with 2009. Higher prescription rates were observed in women, black patients, and patients in higher BMI classes. Of 3,919 providers who wrote at least one filled prescription, 23.8% (n = 863) were "frequent prescribers" who wrote 89.6% of all filled prescriptions. Conclusions Weight-loss medications are rarely prescribed to eligible patients. Phentermine accounted for > 75% of all medication days, with a majority of patients filling it for more than 4 months. Less than one-quarter of prescribing providers accounted for approximately 90% of all prescriptions.

Objective The goal of this study was to determine whether the reduction in cancer risk after bariatric surgery is due to weight loss. Methods A retrospective matched cohort study of patients undergoing bariatric surgery was conducted using data from a large integrated health insurance and care delivery system with five sites in four states. The study included 18,355 bariatric surgery subjects and 40,524 nonsurgical subjects matched on age, sex, BMI, site, and Elixhauser comorbidity index. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models examined the relationship between weight loss at 1 year and incident cancer during up to 10 years of follow-up. Results The study identified 1,196 cases of incident cancer. The average 1-year postsurgical weight loss was 27% among patients undergoing bariatric surgery versus 1% in matched nonsurgical patients. Percent weight loss at 1 year was significantly associated with a reduced risk of any cancer in adjusted models (HR 0.897, 95% CI: 0.832-0.968, P = 0.005 for every 10% weight loss) while bariatric surgery was not a significant independent predictor of cancer incidence. Conclusions Weight loss after bariatric surgery was associated with a lower risk of incident cancer. There was no apparent independent effect of the bariatric surgery itself on cancer risk that was independent of weight loss.

Understanding of the long-term clinical outcomes associated with bariatric surgery has recently been advanced. Research related to the sequelae of diabetes—in particular, long-term microvascular and macrovascular complications—in patients who undergo weight-loss surgery is imperative to this pursuit. While numerous randomized control trials have assessed glucose control with bariatric surgery compared with intensive medical therapy, bariatric surgery outcome data relating to microvascular and macrovascular complications have been limited to observational studies and nonrandomized clinical trials. As a result, whether bariatric surgery is associated with a long-term reduction in microvascular and macrovascular complications when compared with current intensive glycemic control therapy cannot be determined because the evidence is insufficient. However, the consistent salutary effects of bariatric surgery on diabetes remission and glycemic improvement support the opportunity (and need) to conduct high-quality studies of bariatric surgery versus intensive glucose control. This review provides relevant background information related to the treatment of diabetes, hyperglycemia, and long-term complications; reports clinical findings (to date) with bariatric surgery; and identifies ongoing research focusing on long-term vascular outcomes associated with bariatric surgery.

Racial/ethnic disparities in the prevalence of diagnosed hypertension are persistent but may be partially explained by racial/ethnic differences in weight category and neighborhood socioeconomic status. The authors compared hypertension prevalence rates among 4 060 585 adults with overweight or obesity across 10 healthcare systems by weight category and neighborhood education level in geographically and racially diverse individuals. Data were obtained from electronic health records. Hypertension was defined as at least two outpatient visits or one inpatient hospitalization with a coded diagnosis. Logistic regression, adjusted for age, sex, and site, with two-way interactions between race/ethnicity and weight category or neighborhood education, was used to examine the association between hypertension and race/ethnicity, with whites as the reference. Results documented that odds ratios for hypertension prevalence were greater for blacks, American Indians/Alaskan Natives, Asians, and Native Hawaiians/other Pacific Islanders compared with whites and lower for Hispanics in similar weight categories and neighborhood education levels. Although two-way interactions were statistically significant, the magnitude of the odds of hypertension compared with whites did not substantially vary across weight or neighborhood education. Hypertension odds were almost double relative to whites for blacks and Native Hawaiians/other Pacific Islanders across most weight categories and all neighborhood education levels. Odds of hypertension were about 50% greater for Asians relative to whites across weight categories. Results suggest that other factors might be associated with racial/ethnic disparities in hypertension. More research is needed to understand the many factors that may contribute to variation in diagnosed hypertension across racial/ethnic groups with overweight or obesity.

Background: Older adults have high rates of obesity and are prone to chronic health conditions. These conditions are in part due to high rates of sedentary time (ST). As such, reducing ST could be an innovative strategy for improving health outcomes among obese older adults. To test this theory, we developed a novel, technology-enhanced intervention to reduce sitting time (I-STAND) and pilot tested it to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effects of the intervention on ST and biometric outcomes. Objective: The current paper aims to describe the rationale, design, and methods of the I-STAND sitting reduction pilot trial. Methods: Older adults with obesity (n=60) were recruited from a large health care system and randomized to receive I-STAND or a healthy living intervention. I-STAND combined personal coaching with a technology-enhanced intervention (Jawbone UP band) to cue breaks from sitting. Participants completed self-report and biometric assessments at baseline and 3 months. Additional qualitative results were collected from a subset of I-STAND participants (n=22) to further inform the feasibility and acceptability of the interventions. The primary outcome was total hours of daily sitting time measured by the activPAL device. Secondary outcomes included sit-to-stand transitions, bouts of sitting longer than 30 minutes, physical function, blood pressure, fasting glucose, cholesterol, and depressive symptoms. Results: Study enrollment has ended and data processing is underway. Conclusions: Data from randomized trials on sitting reduction are needed to inform novel approaches to health promotion among older adults with obesity. Our trial will help fill this gap. The methods used in our study can guide future research on using technology-based devices to assess or prompt sedentary behavior reduction, or those interested in behavioral interventions targeting obese older adults with novel approaches Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02692560; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02692560 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6wppLTWAl)

(1) Objective: To examine the relationship between the choice of second-generation antidepressant drug treatment and long-term weight change; (2) Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study to investigate the relationship between choice of antidepressant medication and weight change at two years among adult patients with a new antidepressant treatment episode between January, 2006 and October, 2009 in a large health system in Washington State. Medication use, encounters, diagnoses, height, and weight were collected from electronic databases. We modeled change in weight and BMI at two years after initiation of treatment using inverse probability weighted linear regression models that adjusted for potential confounders. Fluoxetine was the reference treatment; (3) Results: In intent-to-treat analyses, non-smokers who initiated bupropion treatment on average lost 7.1 lbs compared to fluoxetine users who were non-smokers (95% CI: −11.3, −2.8; p-value < 0.01); smokers who initiated bupropion treatment gained on average 2.2 lbs compared to fluoxetine users who were smokers (95% CI: −2.3, 6.8; p-value = 0.33). Changes in weight associated with all other antidepressant medications were not significantly different than fluoxetine, except for sertraline users, who gained an average of 5.9 lbs compared to fluoxetine users (95% CI: 0.8, 10.9; p-value = 0.02); (4) Conclusion: Antidepressant drug therapy is significantly associated with long-term weight change at two years. Bupropion may be considered as the first-line drug of choice for overweight and obese patients unless there are other existing contraindications.

Aims/hypothesis Mounting evidence indicates that Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) ameliorates type 2 diabetes, but randomised trials comparing surgical vs nonsurgical care are needed. With a parallel-group randomised controlled trial (RCT), we compared RYGB vs an intensive lifestyle and medical intervention (ILMI) for type 2 diabetes, including among patients with a BMI

Background Despite the consequences of overweight and obesity, effective weight management is not occurring in primary care. Objective To identify beliefs about obesity that act as barriers to weight management in primary care by surveying both patients and providers and comparing their responses. Design Anonymous, cross-sectional, self-administered survey of patients and providers of a Veteran’s Administration Primary Care Clinic, distributed at the clinic site. Subjects Forty-eight Internal Medicine providers and 488 patients. Measurements Beliefs, attitudes, and experiences with weight management as well as demographic characteristics were collected through a questionnaire. Results Providers and patients differed significantly on many beliefs about weight. Providers were more likely than patients to perceive that patients lack self-control to stay on a diet and that fattening food in society and lack of time for exercise were prime factors in weight gain. They also expressed more interest in helping patients with weight management than patients desiring this. Patients were more likely to state that weight problems should be managed on one’s own, talking to a provider is not helpful, providers blame them for their weight problem, and that appointments contain sufficient time for weight discussion. Conclusion Providers and patients emphasize different barriers to weight management. Providers need to be aware of the beliefs that their patients hold to improve weight management discussions and interventions in primary care.

Background/AimsSedentary time (ST) is independently associated with cardio-metabolic conditions and mortality. Older adults have the highest levels of ST of all age groups. Little is known about how ST relates to BMI, health conditions, and health costs in older adults. Our aim was to use electronic health records (EHR) to better explore these relationships.MethodsWe extracted health risk assessment data (HRA), outpatient visit diagnosis codes, and total healthcare costs from the EHR of a large health plan in WA State (Group Health). All members aged 65–99 who completed an HRA in 2011 and were continuously enrolled for 2 years, did not reside in long-term care, or have a terminal health condition were included (N = 3967; ~10% of all eligible members). ST was assessed by the International Physical Activity (PA) Questionnaire sitting item. BMI was calculated using most recent weight and height from the EHR. Cardiovascular disease and diabetes were identified using ICD-9 codes. We used regression analysis to determine how mean ST varied with factors such as diabetes, while controlling for age, gender, race, ethnicity, BMI, diet, and hours of PA per week.ResultsAge and PA were strongly related to ST. Obese participants (BMI >30 (24% of the sample) had significantly higher mean ST (6.75 hours/day, P

This review summarizes recent evidence related to the safety, efficacy, and metabolic outcomes of bariatric surgery to guide clinical decision making. Several short term randomized controlled trials have demonstrated the effectiveness of bariatric procedures for inducing weight loss and initial remission of type 2 diabetes. Observational studies have linked bariatric procedures with long term improvements in body weight, type 2 diabetes, survival, cardiovascular events, incident cancer, and quality of life. Perioperative mortality for the average patient is low but varies greatly across subgroups. The incidence of major complications after surgery also varies widely, and emerging data show that some procedures are associated with a greater risk of substance misuse disorders, suicide, and nutritional deficiencies. More research is needed to enable long term outcomes to be compared across various procedures and subpopulations, and to identify those most likely to benefit from surgical intervention. Given uncertainties about the balance between the risks and benefits of bariatric surgery in the long term, the decision to undergo surgery should be based on a high quality shared decision making process.

Background/Aims The two most common bariatric surgical procedures are laparoscopic gastric band (LAGB) and laparoscopic gastric bypass (RYGB). Single site comparisons suggest that RYGB may result in greater weight loss at the expense of more short-term complications, whereas LAGB may be associated with less weight loss and more long-term complications. It is unclear whether these results extend to other populations.

Background/AimsWeight gain is an undesirable side effect of treatment with 2nd/3rd generation antipsychotic drugs which may have genetic determinants. A number of candidate genes have been analyzed but no genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have yet been reported. The purpose of this study was to determine the rate of extreme weight gain (EWG) among adult users of 2nd/3rd generation antipsychotic medications for future GWAS.MethodsA standardized dataset was extracted on antipsychotic medications users at Group Health and Geisinger Health System from 2004–2010 that included demographics, enrollment, vitals, and pharmacy data. Electronic health record search algorithms were used to identify adult subjects with body weight increases of 15%+ within one year of the initiation of new 2nd/3rd generation antipsychotic drugs. To adjudicate the association of EWG with drug treatment, SAS was used to plot and visually inspect a single graph for each episode that encompassed all weight measurements, antipsychotic orders/fills, pregnancy- and cancer-related visits, and steroid and insulin orders/fills over time. The rate of EWG was then compared among the common types of antipsychotic medications.ResultsThere were 7128 episodes of antipsychotic use that qualified for analysis (5251 patients). The most common medication types were quetiapine (n=2543), risperidone (n=1817), aripiprazole (n=1315), olanzapine (n=971), and ziprasidone (n=413). The least common medications were clozapine (n=37), olanzapine/fluoxetine (n=23), and paliperidone (n=9). EWG was identified for 275 of the 7128 episodes (3.86 per 100 episodes). EWG was significantly different among common medication types (p-value

Background/Aims Comparative effectiveness research studies often require researchers to make inference about the relationship between exposure to various treatments over time and health outcomes. In these studies it can be a challenge to isolate the effect of the exposure from other concurrent treatments and health conditions. For example, in the study of the effect of different antipsychotic medications on body weight, concurrent exposures of oral steroids, insulin, pregnancy, and cancer diagnosis can have important confounding effects. The temporal relationships between these exposures may be difficult to assess in large samples; therefore we sought a way to graphically display exposures and outcomes in a single figure to facilitate rapid screening of potential cases.

Background/Aims The International Serious Adverse Events Consortium (iSAEC) is a pharmaceutical industry and FDA-led consortium focused on identifying DNA variants useful for predicting risk of drug-induced rare serious adverse events (SAEs). We assessed the feasibility of using electronic medical databases at six HMORN sites to identify provisional cases of three SAEs: drug-induced liver injury (DILI), serious skin rashes (SSR), including Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, and angioedema, and extreme weight gain (EWG) among adults on atypical antipsychotics.

Both obesity and depression have been associated with significant increases in health care costs. Previous research has not examined whether cost increases associated with obesity could be explained by confounding effects of depression.Examine whether the association between obesity and health care costs is explained by co-occurring depression.Cross-sectional study including telephone survey and linkage to health plan records.4462 women aged 40 to 65 enrolled in prepaid health plan in the Pacific Northwest.The telephone survey included self-report of height and weight and measurement of depression by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9). Survey data were linked to health plan cost accounting records.Compared to women with BMI less than 25, proportional increases in health care costs were 65% (95% CI 41% to 93%) for women with BMI 30 to 35 and 157% (95% CI 91% to 246%) for women with BMI of 35 or more. Adjustment for co-occurring symptoms of depression reduced these proportional differences to 40% (95% CI 18% to 66%) and 87% (95% CI 42% to 147%), respectively. Cost increases associated with obesity were spread across all major categories of health services (primary care visits, outpatient prescriptions, inpatient medical services, and specialty mental health care).Among middle-aged women, both obesity and depression are independently associated with substantially higher health care costs. These cost increases are spread across the full range of outpatient and inpatient health services. Given the high prevalence of obesity, cost increases of this magnitude have major policy and public health importance.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the frequency of body mass index (BMI) measurement before the implementation of two new Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set (HEDIS) performance measures for obesity that require U.S. health plans to annually report the frequency of BMI and BMI percentile measurement among all adults and children who had at least one outpatient visit during the past two years. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: A consortium of ten U.S. health plans and care delivery systems from the Health Maintenance Organization Research Network, which together provide care to more than 6.5 million adults and children. Participants: Children and adults, age 2 years and older, who were continuously enrolled in one of ten U.S. health plans for at least one full year from 2005 to 2006. Methods: We extracted available anthropometric data for 3.7 million adults and 1.2 million children with at least one visit captured from ten electronic medical record databases from 2005 to 2006. Results: We found that the availability of BMI measurements for adults ranged widely across health plans from 28% to 88%, and availability of BMI percentiles for children ranged from 21% to 81%. Among adults and children with BMI measures in these ten health plans, the overall prevalence of overweight and obesity were very similar to those reported in the 2005 to 2006 U.S. national surveys that used measured heights and weights. Conclusion: The newly approved HEDIS performance measures likely represent an important step in addressing the quality of obesity care in the United States. The current study demonstrates that these HEDIS measures are achievable, especially among health plans that have implemented electronic medical records. Future research should assess the relationship between BMI assessment, provider counseling and treatment practices, and long-term changes in obesity rates among different population groups.

Evidence suggests variability in adult obesity risk at a small-scale geographic area is associated with differences in neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES). However, the extent to which geographic variability in child obesity is associated with neighborhood SES is unknown. The objective of this paper was to estimate risk of child obesity associated with multiple census tract SES measures and race within a large urban U.S. county. Height, weight, age, sex, medical insurance type and census tract residence were obtained for 6-18 year old children (n=8616) who received medical care at a health plan in King County, Washington, in 2006. Spatial analyses examined the individual risk of obesity (BMI > or = 95th percentile) with 2000 US census tract measures of median household income, home ownership, adult female education level, single parent households, and race as predictors. Conditional autoregressive regression models that incorporated adjacent census tracts (spatial autocorrelation) were applied to each census tract variable, adjusting for individual variables. We found that in adjusted spatial models, child obesity risk was significantly associated with each census tract variable in the expected direction: lower household income, lower home ownership, and for each 10% increase in less educated women, and single parent households, as well as non-white residents. In a spatial model including all variables, the SES/race variables explained approximately 24% of geographic variability in child obesity. Results indicated that living in census tracts with social disadvantage defined by multiple different measures was associated with child obesity among insured children in a large U.S. urban county. These results contribute new information on relationships between broader social and economic context and child obesity risk using robust spatial analyses.

Objective: To examine the association between improvement in depression and loss of weight among women with depressive symptoms entering a behavioral weight loss program. Methods: Women aged 40 to 65 with body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more and co-occurring symptoms of depression were identified by a population-based survey. A total of 203 of these women were enrolled in one of two behavioral treatment programs: one focused on weight loss and another on both weight loss and depression. Both programs included up to 26 group sessions over 12 months. Assessments at baseline, 6 months, 12 months and 24 months included measurement of weight, depressive symptoms, self-reported physical activity and estimated caloric intake (via food frequency questionnaire). Results: Over the first 6 months, women with a decrease in depression score were more likely to lose 5 kg or more than women without a significant decrease in depression (38% vs. 22%, odds ratio=2.20, 95% CI=1.09 to 4.44). Over the same period, improvement in depression was associated with increase in physical activity but not with change in caloric intake. Change in depression and change in weight were not significantly associated over later intervals (between 6 and 12 months or between 12 and 24 months). Conclusions: Among women with co-occurring obesity and depression, short-term improvement in depression is associated with weight loss.

Objective To examine whether self-reported sitting time is related to various health indicators, health costs, and utilization in adults over age 65. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional cohort study was conducted using the electronic health record (EHR) from an integrated health system in Washington State. Members who completed an online health risk assessment (HRA) between 2009 and 2011 (N = 3538) were eligible. The HRA assessed sitting time, physical activity, and health status. Diagnosis codes for diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD), height and weight for body mass index (BMI) calculations, health care utilization and health costs were extracted from the EHR. Linear regression models with robust standard errors tested differences in sitting time by health status, BMI category, diabetes and CVD, health costs, and utilization adjusting for demographic variables, BMI, physical activity, and health conditions. Results People classified as overweight and obese, that had diabetes or CVD, and with poorer self-rated health had significantly higher sitting time (p, Highlights • One-third of older adults completing health risk assessments had high sitting time. • Older adults with chronic conditions had higher self-reported sitting time. • Older adults with poor self-rated health had the highest sitting time. • Health care costs increased by $126 for each additional hour of sitting time. • Sitting time may be an important independent health indicator in older adults.