Kimberly Schuster, BA1, Thomas J. Wang, MD2, Marvin Ryou, MD3 1Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA; 2Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA; 3Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA
Introduction: Driven by an ongoing obesity epidemic, the prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) continues to increase in the United States. NAFLD has become a leading cause of morbidity and mortality, and long-term cumulative healthcare costs are 80% higher for NAFLD patients than those without NAFLD. However, it is unclear whether research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has prioritized NAFLD-related research in response to this increasing prevalence and urgency. We aimed to evaluate the recent trends in NIH-funded NAFLD/NASH research and assess the field’s historic and current funding landscape.
Methods: A retrospective review of NAFLD/NASH funding on NIH study sections was performed using the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tools Expenditures and Results (RePORTER) over a study period of 20 years: 2002-2022. Primary endpoints included the cumulative number of grants and NIH funding per year as a percentage of total NIH funding. Secondary endpoints included awards broken down by grant-type and location, as well as trend comparison with reported NAFLD prevalence in the United States over the study period.
Results: Since 2002, the NIH has funded ~$632 million of NAFLD/NASH-related research through 2019 unique projects. The total NIH funding for NAFLD-related projects has increased from $3.3 million in 2002 to $79 million in 2022, or 0.018% of total NIH funding in 2002 to 0.185% in 2022 [Figures 1A and 1B]. With a total of ~100 million affected US adult population based on most recent prevalence estimates, the funding comes out to ~$0.79 per affected person per year in NIH funding. Most funding came from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) [Figure 1C]. Geographically, the majority of grands were received in California (16%) and the Northeast region [Figure 1D].
Discussion: The NIH is the largest public funder of biomedical research and has a strong track record of funding NAFLD/NASH research. More could be done however given the number of adults impacted by this condition and the estimated annual economic burden at $103 billion for NAFLD/NASH, which is nearly 1300 times the 2022 NIH relevant funding. With a projected increase in NAFLD prevalence to >50% of the US population in the next decade, the NIH should consider committing more resources to fund research for future NAFLD diagnosis and treatments.
Figure: Figure 1
Disclosures:
Kimberly Schuster indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Thomas Wang indicated no relevant financial relationships.
Marvin Ryou: Boston Scientific – Consultant. Cook – Consultant. EnteraSense – Consultant. Fuji – Consultant. GI Windows – Consultant. Medtronic – Consultant. Olympus – Consultant.
Kimberly Schuster, BA1, Thomas J. Wang, MD2, Marvin Ryou, MD3. P3859 - Review and Analysis of Yearly Trends for NIH Funding for Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, ACG 2023 Annual Scientific Meeting Abstracts. Vancouver, BC, Canada: American College of Gastroenterology.
