TY - JOUR
TI - A Global Survey of Physicians Knowledge About Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
AU - Younossi, Z.M.
AU - Ong, J.P.
AU - Takahashi, H.
AU - Yilmaz, Y.
AU - Eguc‘hi, Y.
AU - El Kassas, M.
AU - Buti, M.
AU - Diago, M.
AU - Zheng, M.-H.
AU - Fan, J.-G.
AU - Yu, M.-L.
AU - Wai-Sun Wong, V.
AU - Alswat, K.
AU - Chan, W.-K.
AU - Mendez-Sanchez, N.
AU - Burra, P.
AU - Bugianesi, E.
AU - Duseja, A.K.
AU - George, J.
AU - Papatheodoridis, G.V.
AU - Saeed, H.
AU - Castera, L.
AU - Arrese, M.
AU - Kugelmas, M.
AU - Romero-Gomez, M.
AU - Alqahtani, S.
AU - Ziayee, M.
AU - Lam, B.
AU - Younossi, I.
AU - Racila, A.
AU - Henry, L.
AU - Stepanova, M.
AU - Global Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Council
JO - Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology
PY - 2021
VL - null
TODO - null
SP - null
PB - W.B. Saunders
SN - 1542-3565, 1542-7714
TODO - 10.1016/j.cgh.2021.06.048
TODO - null
TODO - Background & Aims: Despite rapidly increasing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) prevalence, providers’ knowledge may be limited. We assessed NAFLD knowledge and associated factors among physicians of different specialties globally. Methods: NAFLD knowledge surveys containing 54 and 59 questions covering 3 domains (epidemiology/pathogenesis, diagnostics, and treatment) were completed electronically by hepatologists, gastroenterologists (GEs), endocrinologists (ENDOs), and primary care physicians (PCPs) from 40 countries comprising 5 Global Burden of Disease super-regions. Over 24 months, 2202 surveys were completed (488 hepatologists, 758 GEs, 148 ENDOs, and 808 PCPs; 50% high-income Global Burden of Disease super-region, 27% from North Africa and Middle East, 12% Southeast Asia, and 5% South Asian and Latin America). Results: Hepatologists saw the greatest number of NAFLD patients annually: median 150 (interquartile range, 60–300) vs 100 (interquartile range, 35–200) for GEs, 100 (interquartile range, 30–200) for ENDOs, and 10 (interquartile range, 4–50) for PCPs (all P <.0001). The primary sources of NAFLD knowledge acquisition for hepatologists were international conferences (33% vs 8%–26%) and practice guidelines for others (39%–44%). The Internet was the second most common source of NAFLD knowledge for PCPs (28%). NAFLD knowledge scores were higher for hepatologists than GEs: epidemiology, 62% vs 53%; diagnostics, 80% vs 73%; and treatment, 61% vs 58% (P <.0001), and ENDOs scores were higher than PCPs: epidemiology, 70% vs 60%; diagnostics, 71% vs 64%; and treatment, 79% vs 68% (P <.0001). Being a hepatologist or ENDO was associated with higher knowledge scores than a GE or PCP, respectively (P <.05). Higher NAFLD knowledge scores were associated independently with a greater number of NAFLD patients seen (P <.05). Conclusions: Despite the growing burden of NAFLD, a significant knowledge gap remains for the identification, diagnosis, and management of NAFLD. © 2021 AGA Institute
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