ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Possible
therapeutic failure of
pediatric obesity is influenced by the high dropout rate. The aim of this study was to evaluate the rate of dropout and the rate of
weight loss over the 24 months of follow-up.
METHODS:
The retrospective, single-center study, involved 489
patients followed for
obesity in the period 2016-2020.
Patients' auxological data and
blood samples were collected during the first (V1) and last visit (V2). Dropout was defined as a follow-up of less than 12 months and/or including less than one visit every 6 months.
Patients were divided into two groups and compared Group A of dropout (297
patients) and Group B of non-dropout (192
patients).
RESULTS:
In the follow-up period, which had a mean duration of 24 months, the dropout rate was 60.7%. In Group A, the percentage of
patients with BMI ≥ 3 SD at V2 was significantly higher than that in Group B. In Group B, the percentage of
patients with pathological HOMA-IR and with
fasting glucose >100 mg/dL was higher than group A. The
probability of dropout was positively associated with pubertal stage and negatively with impaired
fasting glycemia and pathological insulinemia at V1.
CONCLUSION:
The study demonstrated a high dropout rate during follow-up, mainly among
adolescents and
patients with no glucometabolic alterations.
