Zamandi Mahmoud, Ghorbani Alireza, Afshari Somayeh, Raei Behzad
Iran University of Medical Sciences Tehran Iran.
Department of Public Health, School of Health Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences Sabzevar Iran.
Health Sci Rep. 2025 Jun 30;8(7):e70970. doi: 10.1002/hsr2.70970. eCollection 2025 Jul.
Obesity is a multifaceted health issue that significantly elevates the risk of various chronic diseases and can lead to a reduction in life expectancy by 5-20 years. This study aimed to estimate both the direct and indirect costs associated with obesity among the population served by Iran University of Medical Sciences in 2023.
This study employed a cost of illness (COI) framework, utilizing a prevalence-based approach from a societal perspective, specifically targeting the obese demographic. Subsequently, using prevalence and cost data, we calculated the expenses related to each obesity-associated disease, categorizing them into direct medical, direct nonmedical, and indirect costs. The costs for each disease were then adjusted based on the attributable fraction of the obese population, and the total costs associated with obesity-related diseases were aggregated.
The economic burden of obesity-attributable to six specific diseases within the population covered by Iran University of Medical Sciences was estimated at approximately $PPP 2452 million, representing 31% of the total economic burden of these six chronic diseases, which amounts to $PPP 7804 million. Of the total economic burden due to obesity, direct medical costs accounted for $PPP 1362 million (56%), direct nonmedical costs were $PPP 76 million (3%), and indirect costs reached $PPP 1014 million (41%).
The financial implications of obesity, particularly in relation to certain diseases, are substantial. There is an urgent need for cost-effective preventive measures aimed at controlling and reducing the prevalence of overweight and obesity, thereby mitigating their adverse health impacts and economic consequences.
肥胖是一个多方面的健康问题，显著增加了各种慢性疾病的风险，并可能导致预期寿命缩短5至20年。本研究旨在估算2023年伊朗医科大学服务人群中与肥胖相关的直接和间接成本。
本研究采用疾病成本（COI）框架，从社会角度采用基于患病率的方法，特别针对肥胖人群。随后，利用患病率和成本数据，我们计算了与每种肥胖相关疾病的费用，将其分为直接医疗、直接非医疗和间接成本。然后根据肥胖人群的归因比例调整每种疾病的成本，并汇总与肥胖相关疾病的总成本。
伊朗医科大学覆盖人群中六种特定疾病导致的肥胖经济负担估计约为24.52亿美元（购买力平价），占这六种慢性病总经济负担（78.04亿美元，购买力平价）的31%。在肥胖导致的总经济负担中，直接医疗成本占13.62亿美元（56%），直接非医疗成本为7600万美元（3%），间接成本达10.14亿美元（41%）。
肥胖的经济影响巨大，尤其是与某些疾病相关时。迫切需要采取具有成本效益的预防措施，以控制和降低超重和肥胖的患病率，从而减轻其对健康的不利影响和经济后果。
