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Obesity Boosts Drug Spending; Mayo Clinic Study Says Extra Weight Increases Prescription Tab for Men

Posted on: Monday, 8 November 2004, 15:00 CST

Obesity boosts drug spending

Mayo Clinic study says extra weight increases prescription tab for men

New Orleans -- With higher rates of everything from back pain to erectile dysfunction, it may not be a surprise that obese men spend more on prescription drugs.

But a new study of 328 business executives who took part in a health screening program found that their medication costs are 3 1/ 2 times those of normal weight men.

On average, obese men spent $80.31 a month at the pharmacy, compared with $39.27 for overweight men and $22.84 for normal weight men.

The obese men also had substantially higher rates of several health conditions, including joint and back pain, sleep apnea, erectile dysfunction, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and depression.

"We did not expect to see such significant health problems so strongly associated with weight," said lead author Thomas Allison, an internal medicine consultant at the Mayo Clinic.

Medication to treat risk factors for heart disease was the biggest pharmacy cost for the obese men, amounting to $42.02 a month, compared with $18.41 for overweight men and $9.89 for normal weight men.

"That's what you would expect, but it's nice to see it quantified," said Valentin Fuster, director of the Cardiovascular Institute at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.

Fuster, who was not a part of the study, said what is most troubling is the high rate of obesity among 15- to 19-year-olds.

"It is going to get much worse," he said. "That (high drug costs and ill health) is what they are going to be facing."

The research was presented Sunday at the American Heart Association's Scientific Sessions here. The study involved a health screening program for business executives offered by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

Allison said previous research suggested that obese men spend 177% of what normal weight men spend on medications. The new study found that drug spending was twice that much.

He said the findings should be of special interest to employers who ultimately pay much of those costs. For some, it might be an incentive to offer workplace weight-loss programs.

However, others may use it as an excuse not to hire obese people, he said.

"Our point is simply to make an observation," Allison said.

He added that prescription drugs usually save money in the long run because they help prevent more costly interventions such as surgery or hospitalization.

Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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