Abstracts / Posters
The influence of body mass index on number of visits to general practitioners in the UK
Obesity Reviews. 2004 Vol 5 Issue S1 16
The Counterweight Project Team
Aim: To examine the number of visits to General Practitioners (GPs) according to patients Body Mass Index (BMI).
Methods: 6150 obese (BMI>=30) and 1150 normal weight (BMI 18.5-<25) patients were randomly selected from 73 primary care practices in the UK. Medical records were retrospectively reviewed for the previous 18 months and GP appointments noted. Frequent attendance was defined as 4 or more visits.
Results: Obese patients visit their GP more frequently than their normal weight counterparts (GP: 60.2% vs 46.8%; in 18 months p<0.001). The mean numbers of GP appointments by BMI banding are: BMI 18.5-<25 = 5.0, BMI 30 -34.9 = 6.2, BMI 35-39.9 = 7.3, BMI >40 = 8.3. After adjusting for age, sex and social deprivation the odds ratio (OR) for frequent GP attendance (4 visits in 18 months) for obese patients was 1.62 (95%CI 1.37-1.92). Testing for trend across the obese BMI bands showed a significant relationship (p<0.001). After further adjusting for number of known obesity-related co-morbidities this relationship was weakened but not fully explained. (OR 1.31; 95% CI 1.10-1.56). No significant trends across BMI categories in the obese (BMI > 30) were then found (p=0.235).
Conclusions: Obese patients attend their GP significantly more often than normal weight patients. Within the obese the higher attendance rates with increased BMI is largely attributable to the number of obesity-related co-morbidities.