title: The Socioeconomic Impact of Morbid Obesity and Factors Affecting Access to Obesity Surgery.
abstract: Bariatric surgery has been shown in many studies to be the most effective long-term treatment for severe obesity and obesity-related comorbidities. Economic analysis has demonstrated cost-effectiveness as well as cost-savings in select subgroups of patients. Despite the health and economic benefits of bariatric surgery, relatively few eligible patients receive this treatment. This disparity in access to care must be addressed by health policy decision-makers.
authors.affiliation: Digestive Disease Institute, Department of General Surgery, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, USA.
authors.forename: Tammy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fouse
authors.affiliation: Bariatric and Metabolic Institute, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA. Electronic address: schauep@ccf.org.
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schauer
mesh_terms: D050110:Bariatric Surgery / Q000191:economics; D015897:Comorbidity; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D006297:Health Services Accessibility / Q000191:economics; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D054625:Healthcare Disparities / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology; D006801:Humans; D009767:Obesity, Morbid / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000601:surgery*; D015995:Prevalence; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States
keywords: Access to care; Bariatric and metabolic surgery; Economic impact; Obesity; Prevalence