TY - JOUR
T1 - Medical costs of obese Japanese
T2 - A 10-year follow-up study of National Health Insurance in Shiga, Japan
AU - Nakamura, Koshi
AU - Okamura, Tomonori
AU - Kanda, Hideyuki
AU - Hayakawa, Takehito
AU - Okayama, Akira
AU - Ueshima, Hirotsugu
AU - Yamashita, Shigeo
AU - Tominaga, Yoshinori
AU - Katsuyama, Kazuaki
AU - Kakuno, Fumihiko
AU - Kitanishi, Machiko
AU - Tobita, Yukio
AU - Okamura, Kanehiro
AU - Hatta, Kiminobu
AU - Okada, Takao
AU - Hatanaka, Michiko
N1 - Funding Information:
The present study was performed as part of the research work of the Health Promotion Research Committee of the Shiga NHI Organizations. We are grateful to the Shiga NHI Organizations. The study was funded by a research grant from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (H17-kenko-007, H18-seishuu-012).
PY - 2007/10
Y1 - 2007/10
N2 - Background: For the Japanese population, a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0-29.9 is classified as obesity and is a risk factor for cardiovascular disorders such as hypertension. Methods: A cohort study to clarify obesity costs for a Japanese population was conducted utilizing baseline BMI and medical costs over a 10-year follow-up period. The participants were 4502 community dwelling Japanese National Health Insurance (NHI) beneficiaries aged 40-69 years. According to their baseline BMI values (kg/m2), participants were classified into the following three categories: BMI < 18.5, 18.5 ≤ BMI < 25.0 and 25.0 ≤ BMI. Medical costs per person per month were compared among the three categories. Excess medical costs attributable to the 25.0 ≤ BMI category compared to the 18.5 ≤ BMI < 25.0 category were estimated. Results: Approximately 20% of the Japanese population studied had a BMI of 25.0 or over. A J-shaped relationship between BMI and personal total medical costs was observed. Personal total medical costs per month determined from the 10-year follow-up in each category were 189 Euros (BMI < 18.5), 134 Euros (18.5 ≤ BMI < 25.0) and 155 Euros (25.0 ≤ BMI). A J-shaped pattern was observed after adjusting for age, sex, smoking and drinking habits, and excluding early deceased participants. Furthermore, smoking habit did not modify the J-shaped pattern of total medical costs. The estimated excess medical costs for the 25.0 ≤ BMI category represented 3.1% of the total medical costs for the entire study population (634 105 Euros). Conclusion: The Japanese NHI beneficiaries with a BMI of 25.0 or over showed increased medical costs compared to those with a BMI of 18.5-24.9.
AB - Background: For the Japanese population, a body mass index (BMI) of 25.0-29.9 is classified as obesity and is a risk factor for cardiovascular disorders such as hypertension. Methods: A cohort study to clarify obesity costs for a Japanese population was conducted utilizing baseline BMI and medical costs over a 10-year follow-up period. The participants were 4502 community dwelling Japanese National Health Insurance (NHI) beneficiaries aged 40-69 years. According to their baseline BMI values (kg/m2), participants were classified into the following three categories: BMI < 18.5, 18.5 ≤ BMI < 25.0 and 25.0 ≤ BMI. Medical costs per person per month were compared among the three categories. Excess medical costs attributable to the 25.0 ≤ BMI category compared to the 18.5 ≤ BMI < 25.0 category were estimated. Results: Approximately 20% of the Japanese population studied had a BMI of 25.0 or over. A J-shaped relationship between BMI and personal total medical costs was observed. Personal total medical costs per month determined from the 10-year follow-up in each category were 189 Euros (BMI < 18.5), 134 Euros (18.5 ≤ BMI < 25.0) and 155 Euros (25.0 ≤ BMI). A J-shaped pattern was observed after adjusting for age, sex, smoking and drinking habits, and excluding early deceased participants. Furthermore, smoking habit did not modify the J-shaped pattern of total medical costs. The estimated excess medical costs for the 25.0 ≤ BMI category represented 3.1% of the total medical costs for the entire study population (634 105 Euros). Conclusion: The Japanese NHI beneficiaries with a BMI of 25.0 or over showed increased medical costs compared to those with a BMI of 18.5-24.9.
KW - Body mass index
KW - Japan
KW - Medical costs
KW - Obesity
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=35648988914&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=35648988914&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/eurpub/ckl271
DO - 10.1093/eurpub/ckl271
M3 - Article
C2 - 17209225
AN - SCOPUS:35648988914
SN - 1101-1262
VL - 17
SP - 424
EP - 429
JO - European Journal of Public Health
JF - European Journal of Public Health
IS - 5
ER -
