title: Changing BMI categories and healthcare expenditures among elderly Medicare beneficiaries.
abstract: To examine the association between changes in BMI categories and health-care expenditures among elderly Medicare beneficiaries using longitudinal data of the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS) 2000-2005. Changes in BMI were (i) Stayed Normal: individuals with a normal BMI at baseline and follow-up; (ii) Stayed Overweight individuals with overweight BMI at baseline and follow-up; (iii) Stayed Obese individuals with obese BMI at baseline and follow-up; (iv) Normal-Overweight: individuals with normal BMI at baseline and overweight BMI at follow-up; (v) Overweight-Obese: individuals with overweight BMI at baseline and obese BMI at follow-up; (vi) Overweight-Normal: individuals with overweight BMI at baseline and normal BMI at follow-up; (vii) Obese-Overweight: individuals with obese BMI at baseline and overweight BMI at follow-up. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) models on logged Year 3 expenditures were used to analyze changes in expenditures between BMI categories. Overall, 35% Stayed Normal, 34% Stayed Overweight, 18% Stayed Obese, 4% gained weight from Normal-Overweight BMI, 3% gained weight from Overweight-Obese BMI, 5% lost weight from Overweight-Normal BMI, and 3% lost weight from Obese-Overweight BMI. Adjusted models revealed those who Stayed Obese had increased total and multiple expenditure types that were significantly higher than Stayed Normal including total (11%), outpatient (25%), prescription (9%), and medical provider (4%). Compared to Stayed Normal, total expenditures were both 26% higher for Obese-Overweight and Overweight-Obese. The current findings highlight the importance of maintaining a normal BMI in the elderly.
authors.affiliation: West Virginia University School of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. twilkins@hsc.wvu.edu
authors.forename: Tricia Lee
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Wilkins
authors.forename: George S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Rust
authors.forename: Usha
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Sambamoorthi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D005102:Health Expenditures / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D006278:Medicare / Q000191:economics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000150:complications / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D015431:Weight Loss