A Survey on the Knowledge of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) among Pharmacy and Medical Students in a Public University

1Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Besut, MALAYSIA

2Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Quest International University, Jalan Raja Permaisuri Bainun, Ipoh, MALAYSIA

Corresponding author.

Correspondence: Mr. Ahmad Kamal Ariffin Abdul Jamil Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, 22200 Besut, MALAYSIA. Email: kamalariffinajamil@unisza.edu.my
Received January 17, 2023; Revised February 02, 2023; Accepted February 22, 2023.
Copyright 2023 Authors
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Citation

1.Noor MNAM, Jamil AKABA, Ping NY. A Survey on the Knowledge of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) among Pharmacy and Medical Students in a Public University. Journal of Young Pharmacists [Internet]. 2023 Aug 25;15(3):545–50. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.5530/jyp.2023.15.74
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Published in: Journal of Young Pharmacists, 2023; 15(3): 545-550. Published online: 22 August 2023DOI: 10.5530/jyp.2023.15.74

ABSTRACT

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is a spectrum of conditions ranging from steatosis (without inflammation or fibrosis) to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis which is steatosis with necroinflammation associated with liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma. The prevalence of a non-alcoholic fatty liver disease among health-screened patients in suburban medical facilities in Malaysia was reported at 22.7%. Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is associated with several complications that can be fatal. Objectives: This study was conducted to assess the awareness of the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease among pharmacy and medical students in a public university in Malaysia. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted through an online cross-sectional survey of 68 third-year students of both programs. The data obtained were initially analyzed through the Shapiro-Wilk normality test and since the data was found to be not normally distributed, the Mann-Whitney U test was conducted to analyze the mean with the level of significance defined at p<0.050. A chi-square test was also conducted to compare the variables involved. Results: The mean score obtained by participants in the third year of the pharmacy program was 9.28 CI 95% (8.60, 9.95) and the mean score recorded for participants in the third year of the medical program was 9.12 CI 95% (8.59, 9.65). Further analysis through Pearson’s Chi-Square test indicated no significant difference between the mean score obtained to the gender and race of the participants. Conclusion: The findings indicated that the score for the awareness of the non-alcoholic fatty liver disease among the respondents was moderate and there was no significant difference between the scores of the two different programs.

Keywords: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, pharmacy, and medical students