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. 2024 Mar;19(3):e13100.
doi: 10.1111/ijpo.13100. Epub 2024 Jan 29.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of individual-level obesity treatment in paediatrics: A scoping review

Ashwin Dhillon  1 , Madeline Mayer  1 , Lynn Kysh  2 , D Steven Fox  3 , Elizabeth Hegedus  1 , Alaina P Vidmar  1
Affiliations

Cost-effectiveness analysis of individual-level obesity treatment in paediatrics: A scoping review

Ashwin Dhillon et al. Pediatr Obes. 2024 Mar.

Abstract

Objectives: This scoping review informs a health economics perspective on the treatment of paediatric obesity. The results detail recently published research findings on the cost-effectiveness of paediatric obesity treatments and identify key characteristics of cost-effective interventions.

Methods: A structured search was applied to six databases with no data restriction through March 2023: Medline, Embase, Cochrane CENTRAL, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. Studies that included a cost analysis of an individual level, weight management intervention (behavioural, pharmacotherapy, and surgical) in youth, with obesity, ages 2 to 21 years were eligible for inclusion.

Results: Of the 4371 records identified in the initial search, 353 underwent full-text review, 39 studies met the pre-specified inclusion criteria. The majority were published after 2010 (n = 36/39, 92%) and applied to high-income countries (n = 39/39, 100%). Thirty-five of the studies assessed the cost-effectiveness of lifestyle interventions (90%), and four studies assessed surgical outcomes (10%). No pharmacotherapy studies met eligibility criteria. Although the outcome measures differed across the studies, all four surgical interventions were reported to be cost-effective. Thirty of the 35 (85%) lifestyle modification studies were reported to be cost-effective compared to the study comparator examined.

Conclusions: There is a small amount of evidence that individual-level paediatric obesity treatment interventions are cost-effective and, in some cases cost-saving, with most of this work conducted on behavioural interventions. The economic evaluation of paediatric obesity interventions poses various methodologic challenges, which should be addressed in future research to fully use the potential of economic evaluation as an aid to decision-making.

Keywords: childhood obesity; cost-effectiveness; weight management.

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Conflict of interest statement

CONFLICT OF INTEREST STATEMENT

The authors have no financial relationships or conflict of interest relevant to this article to disclose.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
PRISMA 2020 flow diagram for new systematic reviews which included searches of databases and registers only.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Yearly distribution of article by study type (surgical vs. behavioural obesity treatment). No pharmacotherapy interventions met inclusion criteria.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Distribution of study type by obesity treatment.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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