Summary: | Background and objectives: Height and weight data from electronic health records are increasingly being used
to estimate the prevalence of childhood obesity. Here, we aim to assess the selection bias due to missing weight
and height data from electronic health records in children older than five.
Methods: Cohort study of 10,811 children born in Navarra (Spain) between 2002 and 2003, who were still living in
this region by December 2016. We examined the differences between measured and non-measured children older
than 5 years considering weight-associated variables (sex, rural or urban residence, family income and weight status
at 2–5 yrs). These variables were used to calculate stabilized weights for inverse-probability weighting and to conduct
multiple imputation for the missing data. We calculated complete data prevalence and adjusted prevalence considering
the missing data using inverse-probability weighting and multiple imputation for ages 6 to 14 and group ages 6 to 9 and
10 to 14.
Results: For 6–9 years, complete data, inverse-probability weighting and multiple imputation obesity age-adjusted
prevalence were 13.18% (95% CI: 12.54–13.85), 13.22% (95% CI: 12.57–13.89) and 13.02% (95% CI: 12.38–13.66) and
for 10–14 years 8.61% (95% CI: 8.06–9.18), 8.62% (95% CI: 8.06–9.20) and 8.24% (95% CI: 7.70–8.78), respectively.
Conclusions: Ages at which well-child visits are scheduled and for the 6 to 9 and 10 to 14 age groups, weight
status estimations are similar using complete data, multiple imputation and inverse-probability weighting. Readily
available electronic health record data may be a tool to monitor the weight status in children.
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