Ethnic disparities in rates of publicly funded bariatric surgery in New Zealand (2009–2014)

Background

Publicly funded bariatric surgery in New Zealand (NZ) is steadily on the rise to meet the obesity epidemic. Ethnic disparities in obesity rates exist in NZ with Māori and Pacific people having three to five times higher rates than all other ethnic groups within NZ. Ethnic disparities in rates of bariatric surgery have been reported internationally. This research sought to describe rates of publically funded bariatric surgery by self-identified ethnicity in NZ.

Methods

Using reported census and hospitalization discharge data from Statistics NZ and the NZ Ministry of Health, we calculated estimate rates of publicly funded bariatric surgery in the morbidly obese population from June 2009 to July 2014.

Results

The average number of publicly funded bariatric procedures performed per 1000 morbidly obese patients from June 2009 to July 2014 was 3.0 for European, 1.4 for Māori and 0.7 for Pacific ethnicities.

Conclusion

While these data should be interpreted cautiously due to data limitations, the estimated rates may indicate that bariatric services are currently being provided inequitably across the major ethnic groups within NZ. We suggest that further studies should be performed to explore potential patient, healthcare provider and system-level factors that may contribute to ethnic disparities in the rates of publicly funded bariatric surgery in NZ.

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