Loss of Health State Utilities Attributable to Obesity.

This study aimed to quantify the association between the loss of health state utilities (LHSU) and obesity, considering different obesity categories. This is relevant to interventions economic evaluations and for public policy decision planning. Using data from the Chilean National Health Survey, this study uses linear regression models and counterfactual scenarios to calculate the prevalent burden, population averages, and total sum of LHSU attributable to obesity for the Chilean national level on people older than 15 years, year 2017. Adjustments for socioeconomic status and associated noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) are considered. Calculating the LHSU using these methods enables the approximation of loss of prevalent quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). The raw obesity LHSU burden was 9.1% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 5.1-13). When adjustment is considered, the LHSU attributable to obesity reaches 4.6% (95% UI 0.6-8.5) being responsible for 121 045 prevalent QALYs. Socioeconomic status adjusted analysis of higher body mass index (BMI, in kg/m²) categories of obesity shows a dose-response effect for LHSU, being the BMI ≥ 40 category with the highest population average of attributable LHSU (10.1; 95% UI 5.5-14.5, scale 0 [full health] to 100 [dead]). Burden for BMI ≥ 35 categories showed the biggest change after NCD adjustment. Obesity carries a significant burden of QALY loss. Policy decision-making addressing obesity should focus specially on the BMI ≥ 40 group. NCD comorbidity should be considered for policies addressing the BMI ≥ 35 group. • Studies show that the losses of health state utilities (LHSUs) associated to obesity are in the range 0.6 to 5.0 (anchored from 0 to 100; health to dead, respectively). • Adjusted, the burden of LHSU attributable to obesity is 4.6% (95% uncertainty interval 0.6-8.5). • The LHSU burden and the total prevalent quality-adjusted life-year losses form a "U" shape, where body mass index ≥ 40 and 30 to 35 kg/m² categories show higher values. • These results support considering different strategies for tackling the obesity public health problem. • The methods used here can contribute to find new ways to make fruitful work with public cross-sectional information at national level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]