Increases in multimorbidity with weight class in the United States

Area of Science:

• Obesity research
• Network analysis in health
• Chronic disease epidemiology

Background:

• Obesity is a growing global health concern.
• The relationship between increasing body weight and the development of multiple chronic diseases (multimorbidity) is not fully understood.
• Understanding how multimorbidity patterns evolve with weight gain is crucial for effective management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the changes in multimorbidity patterns associated with increasing body weight.
• To identify specific disease combinations that emerge with different classes of obesity.
• To inform precision care strategies for obesity-related conditions.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the Cerner HealthFacts Data Warehouse.
• Analyzed a cohort of 154,528 middle-aged patients across weight categories: normal weight, overweight, and obesity classes 1, 2, and 3.
• Employed network analysis to identify and visualize multimorbidity patterns.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in disease prevalence were observed across weight classes (P<0.05) for most of the 82 diseases studied.
• The prevalence of multimorbidity (excluding obesity) increased from 55.1% in normal weight to 73.99% in Class 2 obesity.
• Disease clusters evolved from hypertension and dorsalgia in normal weight to include joint disorders, lipidemias, diabetes, sleep disorders, and chronic kidney disease with increasing obesity.

Conclusions:

• Multimorbidity patterns significantly shift with increasing body weight and obesity class.
• The progression from overweight to Class 1 obesity showed a substantial increase in multimorbidity.
• Recognizing these weight-specific patterns is essential for precision care in managing obesity-associated chronic conditions and preventing complications.