The impact of pediatric obesity on prescription drug costs and utilization

Background. Childhood obesity has become a serious epidemic emerging as a major global public health crisis. Only recently has the enormous burden of obesity on healthcare costs been recognized but focusing on adult obesity. The purpose of this research was to examine the impact that pediatric obesity has on prescription drug costs and utilization, and how the interaction between obesity as a documented co-morbidity to asthma may impact costs.;Methods. Data used was from 2002 MEPS of 7,707 children aged 3-18. Dependent variables were annual prescription drug expenditures and prescriptions used. Independent variables included Body Mass Index (BMI), age, race, gender, poverty status, asthma, and insurance coverage. Chi-Square tests were used to compare obese versus non-obese groups. A probit model was performed to determine the probability of drug use, and regression models were then analyzed for drug costs and utilization.;Results. Asthma and obesity were found to have independent statistically significant associations with the probability of receiving a prescribed drug (p<0.001 and p=0.033 respectively), while the asthma and obesity interaction had a statistically significant negative coefficient -0.269 (p=0.021). BMI for age was not associated with an increase in drug costs or utilization (p=0.177, 0.075 respectively). The BMI/asthma interaction was statistically significant for drug costs (p=0.012) and utilization (p=0.024). Older obese children had higher utilization and costs than older non-obese children, and younger asthmatic children with obesity had higher utilization than the older asthmatic children with obesity (4.888 and 4.452; p=0.129).;Conclusions. This is the first known study to date evaluating the impact that pediatric obesity may have on prescription drug costs and utilization in children with and without asthma. These findings suggest that the association between pediatric obesity and drug costs may be dissimilar from the associations well documented in adults where obesity increases costs and utilization. The economic impact of pediatric obesity combined with asthma may manifest considerably differently by age, and may be significantly influenced by demographic and socioeconomic factors. A need exists to better understand obesity causality, socioeconomic links, and to develop cost-effective policies that promote early intervention especially in vulnerable populations.