Survey confirms NASH awareness remains low even among most at-risk

Results from a survey presented at the third annual NASH Summit in Boston showed that awareness of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease remained low even among patients with the highest risk factors, according to a press release.

“Low public awareness of NASH and fatty liver disease is a barrier to clinical trial enrollment," Cathleen Dohrn, PhD, senior scientific director at Continuum Clinical, who presented the findings at the Summit, said in the release. “NASH clinical trial sponsors need thousands of patients in order to find the first treatment for this condition, which will necessitate increased awareness and diagnosis of NASH.”

Continuum Clinical conducted the survey and found that among Americans with comorbidities most associated with NASH — such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, and hypertension — the percentage who had ever heard of NASH was 6%.

The survey also showed that 48% of at-risk Hispanic and Latino participants reported the most concern about liver disease vs. 32% of the total participant population. Hispanic and Latino respondents were also significantly more interested in learning about a hypothetical NASH clinical research study compared with the total population (62% vs. 49%).

“NASH disproportionately affects the Hispanic/Latino population, so having confirmation that this cohort is interested in clinical research signals to us that a special effort must be made to ensure clinical trial enrollment is inclusive,” Dohrn said in the release.

Reference: www.continuumclinical.com