@article {8357, title = {Age Differences in the Association Between Body Mass Index Class and Annualized Medicare Expenditures.}, journal = {J Aging Health}, volume = {28}, year = {2016}, month = {2016 Feb}, pages = {165-79}, publisher = {28}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to assess the relationship between body mass index (BMI) class and Medicare claims among young-old (65-69), old (70-74), and old-old (75+) adults over a 10-year period.

METHOD: We assessed costs by BMI class and age group among 9,300 respondents to the 1998 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) with linked 1998-2008 Medicare claims data. BMI was classified as normal (18.5-24.9), overweight (25-29.9), mild obesity (30-34.9), or severe obesity (35 or above).

RESULTS: Annualized total Medicare claims adjusted for age, gender, ethnicity, education, and smoking history were 109\% greater for severely obese young-old adults in comparison with normal weight young-old adults (US$9,751 vs. US$4,663). Total annualized claim differences between the normal weight and severely obese in the old and old-old groups were not statistically significant.

DISCUSSION: Excess Medicare expenditures related to obesity may be concentrated among severely obese young-old adults. Preventing severe obesity among middle and older aged adults may have large cost implications for society.

}, keywords = {Age Factors, Aged, Body Mass Index, Female, Health Expenditures, Humans, Male, Medicare, Obesity, United States}, issn = {1552-6887}, doi = {10.1177/0898264315589574}, url = {http://jah.sagepub.com/content/28/1/165}, author = {Daniel O. Clark and Kathleen A Lane and Ambuehl, Roberta and Tu, Wanzhu and Chiung-Ju Liu and Kathleen T. Unroe and Christopher M. Callahan} }