Hospital length of stay and healthcare costs among African American women due to obesity and diabetic conditions in United States
Creators: name: Moss, Terris R.
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2016

description: Obesity has reached near epidemic proportions in the United States. Rising obesity and its associated comorbidities result in deleterious effects on health status[4-6] and a significant increase in health burdens [7, 8]. Excess cost attributable to overweight and obesity was reported to be approximately $92.6 billion dollars, comprising between 6 – 10% of the total health care expenditure of the US [9, 10]. Obese individuals had 36% higher annual health care costs than non-obese individuals [11].  Type 2 Diabetes (T2DM) has the common characteristic of obesity or being overweight. In addition, the researchers found that while two out of every 1,000 normal weight people had been diagnosed with diabetes, some 18 out of 1,000 obese people had the disease and there was a 41% increase in the incidence of diagnosed diabetes during that time. Researchers confirmed that the more fat tissue a person has the less sensitive that person becomes to insulin. Therefore a greater amount of insulin is required to maintain the body's regulation of blood glucose levels. Fat cells release a protein that leads to the development of T2DM [17].  Obesity prevalence of the pre-diabetic and diabetic conditions is more common in certain subgroups of the population. For African Americans, the prevalence of obesity is high, particularly African American women. The risks of morbidity and mortality associated with diabetes poses serious problems African American women as they affected by obesity related comorbidities disproportionately [14].  Although prevalence rates of obesity and diabetes have reached epidemic proportions in the African American population, the relationship between obesity and hospital health care use, cost and length of stay has received limited attention and failed to provide consistent results. Even though obesity is one of the biggest drivers of preventable chronic diseases and healthcare cost in the United States, obesity rates continue to grow. Taking account of culture and social economic factors, this study serves as a model for future studies on hospital length of stay and health care cost in high risk populations of primary diseases with comorbidities. The study provides a baseline for obese African American women with T2DM. The study design is a retrospective, correlation, quantitative analysis on lengths of hospital stay and cost among adult African American women categorized according to their weight status with T2DM. This study will be driven by the following four research questions and associated statistical hypotheses:  Research Question 1 (RQ1). Is there a relationship between individual health factors of interest (obesity and diabetes) and hospital length of stay (LOS) among African American females?  Research Question 2 (RQ2). Is there a relationship between individual health factors of interest (obesity and diabetes) and hospital costs among African American females?  Research Question 3 (RQ3). How co-morbidities and life factors are related to individual health factors of interest (obesity and diabetes) among African American females?  Research Question 4 (RQ4). How primary diagnoses are related to individual health factors of interest (obesity and diabetes) for African American females? The aim of the study is to estimate the hospital length of stay and associated cost, related to obesity in African American women with T2DM. This cost of illness study would suggest that hospital costs could potentially be saved if obesity would be eliminated [49]. Primary prevention by health promotion campaigns and secondary by mental and dietary treatment can significantly decrease hospital costs obesity inflicts on society [50].