Patient pathway and healthcare utilization during the management of obesity

Client: IQVIA Solutions Canada Inc.

Project ID: P2020-090 / 2021 0970 285 000

Research Question/Objectives: The purpose of this study is to describe the patient pathways for obesity management at hospital and/or specialized obesity services in Canada. Treatment patterns defined by the initiation, discontinuation, sequence, timing and duration of specific obesity interventions, as well as the concurrent healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) will be described for patients with body mass index (BMI) ≥30 kg/m2.

Research objectives:

Describe the real-world obesity care pathway for patients BMI ≥30 kg/m2, from their first obesity clinic visit to the end of follow up, by summarizing patients’ interactions with the healthcare system in Canada.
Describe key patient characteristics (e.g., BMI, age, presence of comorbidities, Charlson Comorbidity Index) at specialist entry of the obesity care pathway.
Describe what professionals (e.g., endocrinologists, surgeons, etc.) are involved in obesity management throughout the obesity care pathway.
Describe the frequency, timing and duration of obesity treatment received along the obesity care pathway, including initiation, stopping and retreatment patterns, for the following types of obesity interventions: lifestyle modifications, pharmacological interventions, bariatric endoscopy, bariatric surgery.
Describe HCRU throughout the obesity care pathway.
Describe the incidence of key obesity-related comorbidities along the obesity care pathway (including, but not limited to, pre diabetes, type 2 diabetes [T2D], cardiovascular disease [CVD], others).
If feasible, to evaluate the increase in HCRU and direct cost (assessed during follow-up) attributable to comorbidities, adjusting for relevant demographic and clinical characteristics (including BMI and changes in BMI over the follow-up period).
Subject to adequate sample size, study objectives (when applicable) will be evaluated separately for patients in obesity class I (BMI 30-35), class II (BMI 35-40) and class III (BMI 40-45) at entry of the pathway, patients with and without comorbidities of interest (independently for each comorbidity) and patients who did or did not undergo bariatric surgery/endoscopy during follow-up.

Results: April 2024