Prevalence of obesity recorded in Primary Care.
OBJECTIVE
To ascertain the prevalence of obesity and overweight recording in primary care (PC) clinical records.


METHODS
A descriptive, cross-sectional study.


METHODS
The study was conducted in three urban, primary care centers in Gipuzkoa.


METHODS
620 computerized clinical records randomly selected from a population of 63,820. Patient age older than 14 years was the only inclusion criterion.


METHODS
Recording of the clinical episode referring to obesity and/or overweight. Other variables included age, sex, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, comorbidity (diabetes, hypertension, heart failure, among others), and variability of the record made by healthcre professionals at each center. Statistical analysis included a Chi-square test or a Fisher's test for low frequencies. A value of P<.05 was considered significant. Analysis was performed using SPSS(®) v.21 software.


RESULTS
Prevalence of recorded obesity was 6%, and 78.4% of those with recorded obesity were women. Overweight was recorded in 3% of subjects, of which 33.2% were women. BMI was recorded in 170 cases (27%). At least one comorbidity was found in 241 subjects (39%). Association of BMI with presence of comorbidity was statistically significant (P=.0001). Recording of obesity was associated to presence of comorbidity (P =.0002).


CONCLUSIONS
This study confirmed that prevalence of obesity is underestimated, mainly because it is inadequately recorded in clinical histories; that prevalence increases in the presence of other risk factors; and that there is a significant variability in data collection between healthcare professionals.
Atención Primaria, Centro de Salud Beraun-Errentería, Osakidetza, Errenteria, Gipuzkoa, España. Electronic address: vbogia@euskalnet.net.
María Luisa
ML
Gutiérrez Angulo
Atención Primaria, Centro de Salud Lasarte, Osakidetza, Lasarte-Oria, Gipuzkoa, España.
Miren Dolores
MD
Amenabar Azurmendi
Atención Primaria, Centro de Salud Lasarte, Osakidetza, Lasarte-Oria, Gipuzkoa, España.
María Lourdes
ML
Cuesta Solé
Atención Primaria, Centro de Salud Gros, Osakidetza, San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, España.
Irene
I
Prieto Esteban
Atención Primaria, Centro de Salud Gros, Osakidetza, San Sebastián, Gipuzkoa, España.
Sara
S
Mancebo Martínez
Atención Primaria, Centro de Salud Beraun-Errentería, Osakidetza, Errenteria, Gipuzkoa, España.
Amparo
A
Iglesias Alonso
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000886:Anthropometry; D015992:Body Mass Index; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
Body mass index; Comorbidity; Comorbilidad; Obesidad; Obesity; Overweight; Prevalence; Prevalencia; Recording; Registro; Sobrepeso; Índice de masa corporal