Observations Involving Demographic Disparities Within Community Based Referral Patients Involving A Clinical Research Center
Mentor Information
Guy W. Neff (Department of Hepatology)
Description
Introduction: NAFLD has become a healthcare crisis, as majority of North Americans suffer from NAFLD, a hepatic inflammation, categorized as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), or the non-inflammatory non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL). NAFLD rarely becomes symptomatic until it has progressed to cirrhosis, thus testing is critical to survival. The aim is to analyze a group of referred patients presumed to have NAFLD. Methods: Primary care physician (PCP) referred patients to a large NAFLD-dedicated clinic were analyzed based on gender, ethnicity, anthropometrics, and serological values. From these values, the referred patients from PCPs were categorized into groups reflective of their demographics. The patients were analyzed on their compliance for visits. Results: Numerous demographics were referred from various PCPs. 32.7% of patients referred are disqualified from any current NAFLD studies; 26.54% of patients qualify for study screening. 17.06% of patients were non-compliant of their visit, while 23.7% of patients have normal results. The primary factor disqualifying patients from NAFLD trials are their current medications: either more time is needed to acclimate to their medication, or the medication was prohibited by the study. The Hispanic/Latino group have the highest degree of transaminitis given the samples collected; White and Caucasians have the highest average CAP score and kPa on FibroScans. Every demographic presented similar BMI(33.39kg/m2) and HbA1c(6.43%) average overall. Conclusions: Currently, the limitation is the amount of data collected. There are not enough patients within each group to generalize to the population. More patients are being added to the databank. 76.3% fall into the White/Caucasian group.
Observations Involving Demographic Disparities Within Community Based Referral Patients Involving A Clinical Research Center
Introduction: NAFLD has become a healthcare crisis, as majority of North Americans suffer from NAFLD, a hepatic inflammation, categorized as non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), or the non-inflammatory non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL). NAFLD rarely becomes symptomatic until it has progressed to cirrhosis, thus testing is critical to survival. The aim is to analyze a group of referred patients presumed to have NAFLD. Methods: Primary care physician (PCP) referred patients to a large NAFLD-dedicated clinic were analyzed based on gender, ethnicity, anthropometrics, and serological values. From these values, the referred patients from PCPs were categorized into groups reflective of their demographics. The patients were analyzed on their compliance for visits. Results: Numerous demographics were referred from various PCPs. 32.7% of patients referred are disqualified from any current NAFLD studies; 26.54% of patients qualify for study screening. 17.06% of patients were non-compliant of their visit, while 23.7% of patients have normal results. The primary factor disqualifying patients from NAFLD trials are their current medications: either more time is needed to acclimate to their medication, or the medication was prohibited by the study. The Hispanic/Latino group have the highest degree of transaminitis given the samples collected; White and Caucasians have the highest average CAP score and kPa on FibroScans. Every demographic presented similar BMI(33.39kg/m2) and HbA1c(6.43%) average overall. Conclusions: Currently, the limitation is the amount of data collected. There are not enough patients within each group to generalize to the population. More patients are being added to the databank. 76.3% fall into the White/Caucasian group.
