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New disease classification system for obesity proposed

Written By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2020-03-11T18:30:39+05:30  |  Updated On 11 March 2020 6:30 PM IST
New disease classification system for obesity proposed
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Obesity is responsible for a huge burden of suffering and social costs, and yet many patients lack access to evidence‐based therapies. The diagnostic term “obesity” and inadequate International Classification of Diseases(ICD) codes contribute to suboptimal efforts to prevent and treat obesity as a chronic disease.

SILVER SPRING, Researchers are proposing a new scientifically correct and medically actionable disease classification system for obesity, according to a paper published online in Obesity, the flagship journal of The Obesity Society.

The proposed disease classification system is based on the concept of Adiposity-Based Chronic Disease (ABCD). The diagnostic term reflects both the pathophysiology and clinical impact of obesity as a chronic disease. The proposed coding system has four domains: pathophysiology, body mass index (BMI) classification, complications, and complication severity; and incorporates disease staging, specific complications that impact health, the basis for clinical intervention, individualized treatment goals and a personalized medicine approach.

The proposed new coding system has four domains:

pathophysiology

body mass index (BMI) classification

complication; and

complication severity

"The coding reflects 'what we are treating' and 'why we are treating it', and, hopefully, will provide impetus for greater access of patients to evidence-based treatments," said W. Timothy Garvey, MD, Butterworth Professor in the Department of Nutrition Sciences and Director of the Diabetes Research Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Garvey is also a GRECC investigator and staff physician at the Birmingham Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Garvey is the corresponding author of the study.

The diagnosis of obesity is currently based only on BMI that conveys no indication of the impact of excess adiposity on a person's health. The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) code for obesity reads "obesity due to excess calories," which experts say is not medically meaningful and does not reflect obesity pathogenesis.

"These inadequacies contribute to lack of access of patients to evidence-based therapies and appreciation of obesity as a chronic disease," said Garvey.

The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) and the European Association for the Study of Obesity (EASO) have both embraced the concept of ABCD.

"There is increasing recognition globally that BMI and other simple metrics of obesity do not accurately reflect the complexity of the disease or the circumstances of patients. The Garvey and Mechanick proposal for a scientifically accurate and medically actionable four domain classification system is most welcome, and builds on previous initiatives of the AACE and EASO, explaining obesity as an 'adiposity-based chronic disease.' It is time for obesity to enter the era of precision medicine, with novel classification systems based on functionally established endpoints," said Gema Frühbeck, first author of the EASO paper on ABCD.

"AACE has historically supported efforts in advancing the clinical evaluation and therapy of obesity beyond just a disease of weight based upon BMI, including guidelines recommending more nuanced diagnosis based upon exam and clinical evaluation to classify and stage the severity of the disease. It is critical to match the intensity of therapy to the severity of disease and pathophysiology of the disease, thus AACE followed its guidelines with a position statement proposing ABCD as a new diagnostic term for obesity. This proposed ICD coding structure supports the clinical efforts of personalizing individual diagnoses with more precision and nuance, which will benefit customized therapeutic plans for patients with obesity," said Karl Nadolsky, DO, FACE, chair of the Nutrition and Obesity Disease State Network at AACE.

"The framework provides a well-organized way to help practitioners and payers conceptualize obesity beyond an erroneous framework of this patient eats too much and is not active enough," said Jamy Ard, MD, professor of epidemiology and prevention at Wake Forest School of Medicine and co-director of the Weight Management Center at Wake Forest Baptist Health in Winston-Salem, NC. Ard was not associated with the research.

Ard added that the biggest challenge he foresees with this approach is that providers currently underdiagnose obesity using the simple BMI-based coding. "This more advanced approach will require a significant amount of education and outreach to change providers' behaviours. However, if better reimbursement is tied to this type of coding system as the authors aspire, it may help to drive broader adoption and implementation," said Ard

for further references log on to:

Proposal for a Scientifically Correct and Medically Actionable Disease Classification System (ICD) for Obesity


Obesityclassificationbody mass index
Source : Journal Obesity
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

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