David Arterburn, MD, MPH
Associate Investigator
206-287-4610
arterburn.d@ghc.org
Recent publications
Curriculum vitae (CV)
Research interests and experience
- Obesity: bariatric surgery; health services research; economics and risk adjustment; pharmaceutical outcomes research
- Health services & economics: obesity prevention and control
- Medication use & patient safety: pharmaceutical outcomes research
- Patient/provider interaction: shared decision making
David Arterburn's main research focus is on finding safe, effective, and innovative ways to treat obesity. He is a general internist and obesity health services researcher with a passionate commitment to helping individuals and families make healthy choices every day and sustain these behaviors over the long haul.
A national leader in obesity research, Dr. Arterburn joined Group Health Research Institute (GHRI) in 2006 to forge a new program of research in physical activity, weight management, and dietary change. Before joining GHRI, he published important findings on the epidemic nature and rising cost of obesity in the United States. Because tackling the obesity crisis requires a menu of treatment options, Dr. Arterburn's current research covers a broad range, including obesity performance measures for health plans, family-based weight management interventions, pharmacotherapy and obesity, bariatric surgery, and the relationship between the cost and quality of the foods we eat. With the Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making, which he serves as a medical editor, and the Washington State Health Care Authority, he is implementing and evaluating a new Group Health initiative to promote shared decision making with video-based patient decision aids. Dr. Arterburn is excited to continue multidisciplinary work with these and other colleagues from the HMO Research Network, the University of Washington (UW), and the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In 2007, Dr. Arterburn was appointed chair of the Adult Obesity Measurement Advisory Panel sponsored by the National Committee on Quality Assurance. In this role, he is helping to develop and evaluate new obesity performance measures for health plans, providers, public agencies, and policy makers. He is currently the founding chair of the Obesity Society's Health Services Research Section. He is also an affiliate assistant professor in the UW Department of Internal Medicine.
Related information:
Recent publications
Wong ES, Wang BC, Garrison LP, Alfonso-Cristancho R, Flum DR, Arterburn DE, Sullivan SD. Examining the BMI-mortality relationship using fractional polynomials. BMC Med Res Methodol. 2011 Dec 28;11(1):175 [Epub ahead of print]. PubMed
Simon GE, Arterburn D, Rohde P, Ludman EJ, Linde JA, Operskalski BH, Jeffery RW. Obesity, depression, and health services costs among middle-aged women. J Gen Intern Med. 2011 Nov;26(11):1284-90. Epub 2011 Jun 28. PubMed
Maciejewski ML, Livingston EH, Smith VA, Kavee AL, Kahwati LC, Henderson WG, Arterburn DE. Survival among high-risk patients after bariatric surgery. JAMA. 2011;305(23):2419-26. Epub 2011 Jun 12. PubMed
Arterburn DE, Westbrook EO, Bogart TA, Sepucha KR, Bock SN, Weppner WG. Randomized trial of a video-based patient decision aid for bariatric surgery. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011 Aug;19(8):1669-75. doi: 10.1038/oby.2011.65. Epub 2011 Apr 7. PubMed
Bell JF, Zimmerman FJ, Arterburn DE, Maciejewski ML. Health-care expenditures of overweight and obese males and females in the Medical Expenditures Panel Survey by age cohort. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2011 Jan;19(1):228-32. Epub 2010 May 13. PubMed
Arterburn DE, Alexander GL, Calvi J, Coleman LA, Gillman MW, Novotny R, Quinn VP, Rukstalis M, Stevens VJ, Taveras EM, Sherwood NE. Body mass index measurement and obesity prevalence in ten U.S. health plans. Clin Med Res. 2010 Dec;8(3-4):126-30. Epub 2010 Aug 3. PubMed
Maciejewski ML, Smith VA, Livingston EH, Kavee AL, Kahwati LC, Henderson WG, Arterburn DE. Health care utilization and expenditure changes associated with bariatric surgery. Med Care. 2010;48(11):989-98. PubMed
Simon GE, Rohde P, Ludman EJ, Jeffery RW, Linde JA, Operskalski BH, Arterburn D. Association between change in depression and change in weight among women enrolled in weight loss treatment. Gen Hosp Psychiatry. 2010;32(6):583-9. Epub 2010 Oct 27. PubMed
Simon GE, Rohde P, Ludman EJ, Jeffery RW, Linde JA, Operskalski BH, Arterburn D, Finch EA. Is success in weight loss treatment contagious (do attendance and outcomes cluster within treatment groups)? Obes Res Clin Pract. 2010;4(4):283-291. PubMed
Linde JA, Simon GE, Ludman EJ, Ichikawa LE, Operskalski BH, Arterburn D, Rohde P, Finch EA, Jeffery RW. A randomized controlled trial of behavioral weight loss treatment versus combined weight loss/depression treatment among women with comorbid obesity and depression. Ann Behav Med. 2011 Feb;41(1):119-30. Epub 2010 Sep 28. PubMed
To view more publications, please see Dr. Arterburn's CV.