Prevalence of Comorbidities and Baseline Characteristics of LAP-BAND AP® Subjects in the Helping Evaluate Reduction in Obesity

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 8; no. 11; p. e78971
• Main Authors: Dreyer, Nancy, Dixon, John B, Okerson, Ted, Finkelstein, Eric A, Globe, Denise
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Public Library of Science 15.11.2013
• Subjects: Comorbidity; Data collection; Medical care utilization; Medical research; Obesity; Patient education
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0078971

To describe the baseline characteristics in patients who chose placement of a LAP-BAND AP® System (LBAP) and participated in the Helping Evaluate Reduction in Obesity (HERO) Study across regions. HERO is a five- year, prospective, multicenter, international study of patients with LBAP placement between July 22, 2009 and January 31, 2011. In addition to baseline and peri-surgery clinical data, seven follow up visits are scheduled at 3, 6 and 12 months, and annually through year five. Data collection included family and medical history, clinical outcomes, laboratory data, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), productivity, healthcare resource utilization, and adverse events. LBAP were placed in 1106 enrolled patients; 56.6% from the US, 26.3% from Europe, 7.1% from Canada, and 10.0% from Australia. The majority were female (n = 877 (79.3%)) with a mean age of 43 years (s.d. = 11.4) and mean body mass index of 45.1 kg/m.sup.2 (s.d. = 6.9). The most common comorbidities were hypertension (HTN) (overall = 42.9%) and diabetes (overall 22.2%, with 27% from the US and 14% from Europe). Overall, less than 5% had a history of cardiovascular disease. The prevalence rates of HTN, diabetes and cardiovascular disease were significantly (p<0.001) higher in men than in women across all regions. Overall HRQoL also worsened with increasing BMI. The HERO study is the first large, multinational and long-term registry with the LBAP. This study will provide real-world outcomes data on LAGB that will help inform patient choice, clinician treatment strategies, and payer reimbursement decisions.