Obesidade infantil na Administração Regional de Saúde do Norte, em Portugal: análise de dados do mundo real

Abstract

Introduction: Obesity is the excessive accumulation of body fat, harmful to health. Childhood obesity has a major impact on the health of children and young people and the complications associated with this disease can lead to chronic problems. In Europe, although it remains high, the prevalence of obesity is stable or decreasing. According to the COSI study, in 2019, in Portugal, there was a prevalence of childhood obesity of 11.9%. In Primary Health Care, the electronic clinical process allows the study of data from the population's health records. In this context of care provision, coding according to the International Classification of Primary Care (ICPC-2) is generally used and, according to this coding system, the T82 code corresponds to the diagnosis of obesity. In this context, analysis of real-world data, from primary care, of individuals coded T82 can be an excellent national source of data on the prevalence, characteristics and impact of obesity on the National Health Service. Therefore, it is extremely important to assess the prevalence of childhood obesity by region in Portugal, as this characterization may allow adapting health care and resources to the needs of the population. Objectives: To assess the prevalence of childhood obesity, on December 31st, 2019, in the pediatric population, aged between 2 and 9 years, in the Northern Regional Health Administration (ARSN) of Portugal based on the ICPC-2 coding "T82-Obesity". Characterize this population regarding the variables: sex, age, weight, height, waist circumference, blood pressure, heart rate and lipid profile. Methodology: A retrospective and analytical longitudinal observational study was carried out based on the study of data collected by the Department of Studies and Planning of the Northern Regional Health Administration. Results: The prevalence of childhood obesity in the population of northern Portugal, based on coding carried out by family doctors, was 3.4%, which corresponded to 20,034 obese children/youths. By analyzing the database, of the 5,931 children aged between 2 and 9 years old with a coded diagnosis of Obesity, it was only possible to determine the variable "Body Mass Index" (BMI) in 67.6% (n=4,008) and, applying the WHO definition of Childhood Obesity, of these 4 008, only 67.3% (n=2,700) were, in fact, obese. The identified obese population consisted of 48.3% males and 51.7% females. The mean age recorded was 6.9 years. Discussion: The prevalence of childhood obesity in the population of northern Portugal, based on coding performed by family doctors, is much lower than the prevalence of childhood obesity estimated by other types of studies. The quality of electronic medical records must be improved. Conclusion: The assessment of the prevalence of childhood obesity based on real-world data allows us to better understand the reality of this disease and the clinical records associated with it. Health professionals should be aware of Childhood Obesity, as it is important to identify its risk factors, effectively carry out its diagnosis and manage it as early as possible. Promoting the early adoption of healthy lifestyles is the basis for the prevention and treatment of this pathology and is available to all health professionals.