A new study found that obesity is linked to longer hospital stays and higher total knee replacement costs.
The link was true irrespective of whether the patient was hospitalized for an obesity-related disease or not. Previous studies have established that most total knee replacement (TKR) patients have BMIs, which fall into the obesity range. Due to this, they are at a higher risk of developing other diseases like diabetes, hypertension and osteoarthritis. This is one reason why medical bills and hospital stays soar than usual.
However, research has been inconclusive as to if higher medical costs in obese TKR patients directly due to a higher BMI or related comorbidities. For the new study, researchers reviewed the BMI, comorbidities, complications, outcomes and cost of care of 8,129 patients who had undergone 6,475 primary TKRs and 1,654 revision TKRs at a major medical center between January 1, 2000 and September 30, 2008. The average age of the participants was 68.
Researchers noted that most common health issues faced by the patients were hypertension and diabetes. Also, treatment cost was lower and hospital stays shorter for patients who had BMIs within the normal weight range.
"The higher costs associated with obesity are believed to be largely due to managing comorbid medical conditions linked to obesity, such as diabetes," said lead study author Hilal Maradit-Kremers, in a statement. "In this study, even in the absence of comorbidities, patients with obesity had longer stays and incurred higher hospital costs."
Researchers noted that every 5 unit increase in BMI beyond 30 kg/m² resulted in a .11 day-longer hospital stay.
"The bottom line is that obesity is increasingly common among patients undergoing joint replacement, which creates a myriad of technical and medical challenges, and likely contributes to the financial burden of the surgery," said senior author David G. Lewallen, MD, an orthopaedic surgeon, also from Mayo Clinic.
The new study was published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery(JBJS).
