PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Maev, Igor V AU - Samsonov, Aleksey A AU - Palgova, Liudmila K AU - Pavlov, Chavdar S AU - Shirokova, Elena AU - Starostin, Kirill M TI - Real-world comorbidities and treatment patterns among patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease receiving phosphatidylcholine as adjunctive therapy in Russia AID - 10.1136/bmjgast-2019-000307 DP - 2019 Aug 01 TA - BMJ Open Gastroenterology PG - e000307 VI - 6 IP - 1 4099 - http://bmjopengastro.bmj.com//content/6/1/e000307.short 4100 - http://bmjopengastro.bmj.com//content/6/1/e000307.full SO - BMJ Open Gastro2019 Aug 01; 6 AB - Objective Previous research conducted in Russia showed that the number of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and associated metabolic comorbidities is large. We conducted an observational study to describe the management of NAFLD in patients with metabolic syndrome in Russia.Design A total of 2843 adult patients from 174 medical sites across 6 federal districts of Russia with newly diagnosed NAFLD, who had at least one of four comorbidities, namely overweight/obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and hypercholesterolaemia, and who received phosphatidylcholine (PPC) as an adjunctive treatment to standard care, were enrolled during 2015–2016.Results Overall, 2263 patients (79.6%) had at least two metabolic comorbidities associated with NAFLD; overweight/obesity was the most common comorbidity reported in 2298 patients (80.8%). Simple steatosis was the most frequently identified clinical form of NAFLD, diagnosed in 2128 patients (74.9%). Among hypertensive patients, ACE inhibitors, statins, and sartans were most commonly prescribed. Biguanides were administered in more than half of diabetic patients. In patients with overweight/obesity and hypercholesterolaemia, statins were the most frequently prescribed medications. Almost all patients (2837/2843; 99.8%) were treated with 1.8 g of PPC three times per day. PPC therapy was associated with a 90.5% 6-month compliance rate, high treatment satisfaction, and a favourable safety profile. However, almost 15% of diabetic patients and 40% of overweight/obese patients received no further treatment.Conclusions In Russia, patients with newly diagnosed NAFLD represent a population heavily burdened by comorbidities, mainly overweight/obesity and hypercholesterolaemia. A significant part of these patients did not receive a comprehensive pharmacotherapy, highlighting the existing unmet need in the current management of NAFLD patients with metabolic syndrome in Russia.