RT Journal Article T1 Disease severity predicts higher healthcare costs among hospitalized nonalcoholic fatty liver disease/nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NAFLD/NASH) patients in Spain. A1 Romero-Gomez, Manuel A1 Kachru, Nandita A1 Zamorano, Meritxell Ascanio A1 Darba, Josep A1 Shreay, Sanatan AB The rising prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) presents many public health challenges, including a substantial impact on healthcare resource utilization and costs. There are important regional differences in the burden of NAFLD/NASH, and Spain-specific data are lacking. This retrospective, observational study examined the impact of liver disease severity, comorbidities, and demographics on healthcare resource utilization and costs in Spain.NAFLD/NASH patients in the Spanish National Health System's Hospital Discharge Records Database (1/1/2006 to 4/30/2017) were categorized into disease severity cohorts as NAFLD/NASH overall, NAFLD/NASH non-progressors, compensated cirrhosis (CC), decompensated cirrhosis (DCC), liver transplant (LT), or hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Patients were followed from index date until the earliest of 6 months, disease progression, end of coverage, death, or end of study. Within each cohort, pre- and post-index healthcare resource utilization and costs per patient per month (PPPM) were calculated.A total of 8,205 patients (mean age 58.4; 54% male) were identified; 5,984 (72.9%) were non-progressors, 139 (1.7%) progressed to CC, 2,028 (24.7%) to DCC, 115 (1.4%) to LT, and 61 (0.7%) to HCC. Pre-index comorbidity burden was high across disease cohorts, and the frequency of comorbidities increased with disease severity. From pre- to post-index, average length of stay (LOS) increased significantly (23%-41%) as did all-cause PPPM costs (44%-46%), with significantly longer LOS and costs in patients with increasing disease severity.Progression of NAFLD/NASH was associated with significantly higher costs and longer LOS. A coordinated approach is needed to manage resources and costs in Spain. YR 2020 FD 2020 LK http://hdl.handle.net/10668/16803 UL http://hdl.handle.net/10668/16803 LA en DS RISalud RD Apr 20, 2025