The study aimed to generate real‑world evidence on individuals living with severe overweight or obesity in Italy, focusing on their characteristics and how they are managed from the perspective of general practitioners (GPs). It was a non‑interventional, longitudinal observational cohort study based on data from the Italian IQVIA Longitudinal Patient Database (LPD), conducted in collaboration with a working group from the Italian Society of Obesity. Individuals with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 27 kg/m² between January 2018 and June 2022 were included. Information on clinical conditions, GP interventions—such as drug prescriptions and referrals for laboratory tests, instrumental examinations, and specialist visits—and hospitalizations was collected for the year before (baseline) and the year after the BMI measurement. Data were analyzed over time (follow‑up versus baseline) and across BMI categories. The final cohort included 134,776 individuals: 44.9% with severe overweight, 36.7% with class I obesity, 12.9% with class II obesity, and 5.6% with class III obesity. The overall mean age was 59.9 years, and 52.9% were men. Both mean age and the proportion of men decreased as BMI increased. The most frequently recorded conditions during follow‑up were hypertension (51.4%), cardiovascular disease (27.5%), and type 2 diabetes (25.1%). The proportion of individuals presenting with clinical conditions and requiring clinical interventions was higher during follow‑up compared with baseline. The likelihood of having most clinical conditions and undergoing interventions increased with higher BMI. Overall, the findings indicate that individuals living with overweight or obesity experience a significant deterioration in health status, which leads to increased use of healthcare resources. Public health strategies could benefit from providing GPs with additional training and resources to improve obesity management and patient outcomes.
The burden of obesity in primary care in Italy: Italian real-world overweight/obesity study (ITROS)
Gerbino C.
;
2025-01-01
Abstract
The study aimed to generate real‑world evidence on individuals living with severe overweight or obesity in Italy, focusing on their characteristics and how they are managed from the perspective of general practitioners (GPs). It was a non‑interventional, longitudinal observational cohort study based on data from the Italian IQVIA Longitudinal Patient Database (LPD), conducted in collaboration with a working group from the Italian Society of Obesity. Individuals with a body mass index (BMI) ≥ 27 kg/m² between January 2018 and June 2022 were included. Information on clinical conditions, GP interventions—such as drug prescriptions and referrals for laboratory tests, instrumental examinations, and specialist visits—and hospitalizations was collected for the year before (baseline) and the year after the BMI measurement. Data were analyzed over time (follow‑up versus baseline) and across BMI categories. The final cohort included 134,776 individuals: 44.9% with severe overweight, 36.7% with class I obesity, 12.9% with class II obesity, and 5.6% with class III obesity. The overall mean age was 59.9 years, and 52.9% were men. Both mean age and the proportion of men decreased as BMI increased. The most frequently recorded conditions during follow‑up were hypertension (51.4%), cardiovascular disease (27.5%), and type 2 diabetes (25.1%). The proportion of individuals presenting with clinical conditions and requiring clinical interventions was higher during follow‑up compared with baseline. The likelihood of having most clinical conditions and undergoing interventions increased with higher BMI. Overall, the findings indicate that individuals living with overweight or obesity experience a significant deterioration in health status, which leads to increased use of healthcare resources. Public health strategies could benefit from providing GPs with additional training and resources to improve obesity management and patient outcomes.
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