Annual prevalence and factors associated with body mass index documentation in German general practices-A retrospective cross-sectional study

Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of body mass index (BMI) documentation by general practitioners (GPs) in Germany and identify associated patient characteristics and determinants. Materials and methods: A retrospective cross-sectional analysis was conducted using data from the IQVIA Disease Analyzer database, which provides anonymized medical data from over 3000 office-based GPs and specialists in Germany. The study included 989 955 patients aged >= 18 years who visited their GP in 2023 and were categorized based on whether they had documented BMI. The prevalence and likelihood of BMI documentation were assessed across age group, sex, health insurance and several health disorders. Associations were analysed using multivariable logistic regression. Results: BMI documentation was recorded for only 10.8% of the patients. The prevalence increased with age (7.3% for <= 40 years to 13.8% for those >70 years) and with the number of health disorders (7.3% for patients with no disorders to 23.2% for patients with more than four disorders). No notable differences were observed between sexes or insurance. Multivariable logistic regression revealed that older age groups (61-70 years: OR = 1.46, 95% CI: 1.43-1.49) and disorders such as obesity (OR = 2.15, 95% CI: 2.01-2.21) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (OR = 2.12, 95% CI: 2.08-2.17) had the strongest association with BMI documentation. Conclusions: BMI is not documented routinely by GPs in Germany. However, older age and the presence of several disorders increase the likelihood of recording this information. These findings underscore a need to prioritize obesity assessment and management in primary care settings in Germany.