title: Prevalence of comorbidities and baseline characteristics of LAP-BAND AP® subjects in the Helping Evaluate Reduction in Obesity (HERO) study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the baseline characteristics in patients who chose placement of a LAP-BAND AP® System (LBAP) and participated in the Helping Evaluate Reduction in Obesity (HERO) Study across regions.
  
  
  METHODS
  HERO is a five-year, prospective, multicenter, international study of patients with LBAP placement between July 22, 2009 and January 31, 2011. In addition to baseline and peri-surgery clinical data, seven follow up visits are scheduled at 3, 6 and 12 months, and annually through year five. Data collection included family and medical history, clinical outcomes, laboratory data, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), productivity, healthcare resource utilization, and adverse events.
  
  
  RESULTS
  LBAP were placed in 1106 enrolled patients; 56.6% from the US, 26.3% from Europe, 7.1% from Canada, and 10.0% from Australia. The majority were female (n = 877 (79.3%)) with a mean age of 43 years (s.d. = 11.4) and mean body mass index of 45.1 kg/m(2) (s.d. = 6.9). The most common comorbidities were hypertension (HTN) (overall  = 42.9%) and diabetes (overall 22.2%, with 27% from the US and 14% from Europe). Overall, less than 5% had a history of cardiovascular disease. The prevalence rates of HTN, diabetes and cardiovascular disease were significantly (p<0.001) higher in men than in women across all regions. Overall HRQoL also worsened with increasing BMI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The HERO study is the first large, multinational and long-term registry with the LBAP. This study will provide real-world outcomes data on LAGB that will help inform patient choice, clinician treatment strategies, and payer reimbursement decisions.
authors.affiliation: Quintiles Outcome, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dreyer
authors.forename: John B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Dixon
authors.forename: Ted
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Okerson
authors.forename: Eric A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Finkelstein
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Globe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015897:Comorbidity; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life