Patients eligible and referred for bariatric surgery in southeastern Ontario
David Barber, Rachael Morkem, Nancy Dalgarno, Robyn L. Houlden, Karen Smith, Mehran Anvari, Boris Zevin
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the proportion of eligible individuals, within one health region in Ontario, who were referred for publicly funded medical and surgical weight-loss interventions (MSWLI). DESIGN: A retrospective cohort study that used primary care data from the Canadian Primary Care Sentinel Surveillance Network (CPCSSN) and referral data from the Ontario Bariatric Network (OBN). SETTING: Primary care practices within southeastern Ontario that contribute data to CPCSSN. PARTICIPANTS: ) obesity who were eligible for referral to the OBN for MSWLI. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary care data about patients within the CPCSSN database were linked to referral records within the OBN database using 3 indirect identifiers to determine the proportion of patients with class II and III obesity who were referred to the OBN for MSWLI. An adjusted multivariate logistic regression model was used to determine the most significant predictors of referral. RESULTS: or greater. Referral was more likely for female than male patients (AOR = 2.18; 95% CI 1.86 to 2.57), those living rurally than for urban dwellers (AOR = 1.39; 95% CI 1.20 to 1.60), and those aged 30 to 39 (AOR = 1.61; 95% CI 1.24 to 2.09) and 40 to 49 (AOR = 1.53; 95% CI 1.18 to 1.98) compared with other age groups. CONCLUSION: Within one health region in Ontario, the referral rate of patients with class II and III obesity for MSWLI was low. Our findings highlight the need for further research to understand and address the barriers to referral of patients with class II and III obesity for MSWLI.