Association Between Obesity-Related Health Factors and Patient-Reported Outcomes: Linking Patient-Reported Outcomes to PEDSnet Electronic Health Record Data

Background: While studies have described poorer health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among youth with obesity, less is known about health factors contributing to this perception. The study aims were to link patient-reported outcomes (PROs) data to electronic health record (EHR) data to describe the association between PROs and obesity-related health factors.Methods: Youth and parents of youth receiving care from weight management programs at eight PEDSnet sites completed PROMIS (R) measures assessing global health, fatigue, stress, and family relationships. EHR data were extracted, including demographics, anthropometrics, diagnoses, medications, and visits for the period encompassing 12 months prior to and after the date of survey. Linear regression analyses describe the association between PROMIS (R) scores and the diagnosis of obesity-related comorbidities, medications for obesity-related comorbidities, and health care utilization.Results: In total, 1249 youth (56% with severe obesity) of diverse backgrounds (60% public insurance, 24% non-Hispanic Black, 24% Hispanic) were included. The diagnosis of many obesity-related comorbidities and use of medications for obesity-related conditions were associated with worse global health fatigue and stress scores. The strongest associations that were consistent across many of the PROMIS (R) measures included number of chronic medications, number of comorbidities, having a neuropsychological diagnosis, and body mass index percentile trajectory.Conclusions: This study details the association of the health issues experienced by youth with obesity and PROs, offering targets in weight management treatment to improve youth and family perception of overall health and well-being.