The nationwide analysis covered 14,483,566 hospitalisations of children aged one month to under 18 years in Thailand’s Universal Coverage scheme from 2015–2023. ICD-coded obesity appeared in 42,168 records and was a comorbidity in 95.7%.
Key findings
- Unadjusted median costs were 156.8% higher when obesity was coded as a comorbidity. Adjusted ratios were 1.21 for length of stay and 1.42 for cost. Adjusted mortality was not significant (OR 1.14; 95% CI 0.89–1.45).
Why this matters globally
Middle-income UHC systems need resource planning for childhood non-communicable disease. The study quantifies inpatient burden and supports weight-aware care and complexity-sensitive financing.
Thai researcher contribution
Khon Kaen University-affiliated researchers used national data to address Thai clinical and health-financing questions.
Limitations to consider
ICD coding may capture only selected or severe cases; BMI and family factors were unavailable. Hospitalisations are not unique children, and residual confounding remains. These data cannot estimate obesity prevalence.