Proportion of Obese Patients Presenting to Orthopedic Total Joint Arthroplasty Clinics

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that the percentage of obese individuals initially presenting to total joint arthroplasty clinics in a public, tertiary hospital is greater than the proportion of obese individuals in the general population. In a retrospective, comparative study of patients seen in total joint replacement clinics at a public, tertiary hospital with an ICD-9 diagnosis of hip or knee osteoarthritis and documented body mass index, the proportion of obese individuals was compared with recent obesity data for the general population from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Patients who had previously undergone hip or knee replacement surgery were excluded. Comorbid conditions, functional comorbidity index (FCI) scores, and Charlson comorbidity index scores were compared between obese and nonobese cohorts. The study included 499 patients aged 20 to 92 years (mean, 64.3 years), 58.9% of whom were female. Fifty-five percent of patients were obese, a significantly greater percentage than in the national (34.9%; P<.0005; odds ratio [OR]=2.23), regional (29.5%; P<.0005; OR=2.85), and state (31.1%; P<.0005; OR=2.64) populations. Obese patients had significantly more comorbid conditions (P<.002) and higher functional comorbidity index scores (P<.0009). The number of comorbidities and having Medicare/Medicaid insurance were predictive of obesity. This study highlights that the majority of patients presenting to orthopedic total joint arthroplasty clinics are obese and that they come with significantly more comorbidities. The total joint surgeon has a unique opportunity to facilitate weight loss in the obese osteoarthritic patient prior to joint replacement.