The NASH Global Health Observatory conducted a first-in-the-U.S. survey of physicians to highlight specific needs for the fight against nonalcoholic steatohepatitis.
Researchers surveyed 392 U.S. hepatologists, gastroenterologists, endocrinologists and diabetologists. Researchers attempted to highlight the current level of understanding of NASH in the medical community.
Here's what they found:
1. Eighty-nine percent of diabetologists/endocrinologists believe they see patients daily that are at a high risk of developing NASH.
2. Approximately 65 percent of respondents said there needs to be an increased effort to produce and distribute NASH-specific education materials.
3. Sixty percent of hepatologists and GI physicians understood ballooning/inflammation should be considered a major objective for a therapeutic NASH treatment.
4. Forty-nine percent of hepatologists/gastroenterologists understood that cardiovascular disease was a leading cause of death in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease — a precursor to NASH.
Full results were presented at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases' The Liver Meeting, Oct. 20 to Oct. 24 in Washington, D.C.