Obesity status and use of general surgery resources

Obesity is a rapidly growing epidemic. This study assesses the impact of obesity on surgeon workload for general surgical services. A retrospective study of patients undergoing cholecystectomy, unilateral mastectomy, and colectomy between January 2000 and December 2003 was undertaken. Obesity was de...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American surgeon 2005-11, Vol.71 (11), p.963-970
Main Authors: Finan, Kelly R, Leeth, Ruth R, Ritchie, Gilbert, Vickers, Selwyn M, Hawn, Mary T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cholecystectomy - utilization
Colectomy - utilization
Female
Humans
Male
Mastectomy - utilization
Middle Aged
Obesity - epidemiology
Retrospective Studies
Severity of Illness Index
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Summary:Obesity is a rapidly growing epidemic. This study assesses the impact of obesity on surgeon workload for general surgical services. A retrospective study of patients undergoing cholecystectomy, unilateral mastectomy, and colectomy between January 2000 and December 2003 was undertaken. Obesity was defined as body mass index > or = 30. The proportion of obese patients was compared to the 2002 BRFSS obesity prevalence data for Alabama. Data were adjusted to control for potential confounders. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. A total of 1,385 patients were included in analysis. The prevalence of obesity in the study population was 35.5 per cent compared to the statewide prevalence of 25.2 per cent (OR = 1.73, 95% CI = 1.51, 1.98). These data were stratified by procedure, age, and gender. The cholecystectomy group had a significantly higher proportion of obese for all age groups and female gender. The mastectomy group had a higher proportion of obese in the 45-64 age group. The stratified colectomy group did not reach statistical significance. There was no evidence of referral bias to explain these findings. This study demonstrates there is a greater use of general surgery services, particularly cholecystectomy and mastectomy, in obese patients than predicted by the prevalence of obesity in the population.
ISSN:0003-1348
1555-9823
DOI:10.1177/000313480507101111