Claims-Based Body Mass Index and Obesity Comparative Effectiveness Research—Weighing the Evidence - Takeaways - MDSpire
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Assessing Claims-Based Body Mass Index in Comparative Obesity Effectiveness Research

  • By

  • Karan R. Chhabra

  • Babak J. Orandi

  • October 27, 2026

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  • 1

    In a 20% Medicare claims sample from 2017 to 2023, 173,344 beneficiaries with obesity underwent bariatric surgery or initiated GLP-1 receptor agonist therapy.

  • 2

    Median BMI was 47.5 among patients undergoing bariatric surgery and 39.5 among those initiating GLP-1 receptor agonists.

  • 3

    ICD-10-CM Z68 BMI codes were recorded for nearly all surgical patients and almost 84% of patients starting pharmacotherapy.

  • 4

    Z68 codes provide finer BMI detail than E66 obesity diagnosis codes and may support more precise adjustment for baseline obesity severity in claims-based comparisons.

  • 5

    The study established baseline BMI ascertainment but did not validate BMI against medical records or show that claims can track BMI changes during treatment.

Original Source(s)

Claims-Based Body Mass Index and Obesity Comparative Effectiveness Research—Weighing the Evidence

  • by Karan R. Chhabra, Babak J. Orandi

  • October 27, 2026

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