Association Between Obesity-Related Health Factors and Patient-Reported Outcomes: Linking Patient-Reported Outcomes...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Endocrinology
• Health Services Research
• Quality of Life Research

Background:

• Poorer health-related quality of life (HRQOL) is documented in youth with obesity.
• Factors contributing to this perception remain less understood.
• Linking patient-reported outcomes (PROs) with electronic health record (EHR) data can elucidate these associations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To associate PROs with obesity-related health factors in pediatric weight management patients.
• To identify specific health issues impacting youth's perception of their well-being.

Main Methods:

• Utilized PROMIS® measures for global health, fatigue, stress, and family relationships.
• Extracted EHR data including demographics, anthropometrics, diagnoses, and medications.
• Employed linear regression to analyze associations between PROMIS® scores and obesity-related factors.

Main Results:

• 1249 diverse youth (56% severe obesity) participated.
• Obesity-related comorbidities and medications were linked to worse global health, fatigue, and stress scores.
• Key associations included chronic medication count, comorbidity count, neuropsychological diagnoses, and BMI percentile trajectory.

Conclusions:

• This study highlights the connection between health issues in youth with obesity and their reported outcomes.
• Identified associations offer targets for weight management interventions.
• Improving the perception of overall health and well-being for youth and families is a key treatment goal.