Work

Patient-reported treatment burden, communication, and persistence intention during add-on peginterferon alfa-2b therapy for chronic hepatitis B: a cross-sectional study

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Background Add-on peginterferon alfa-2b (Peg-IFN) may help reduce hepatitis B surface antigen levels and achieve a functional cure in selected patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), but the treatment burden can make a finite course difficult to complete. We examined the patient-reported factors associated with thoughts of discontinuation and intentions to persist with treatment during add-on Peg-IFN therapy. Methods This anonymous cross-sectional online survey used outcome-specific analytic populations. All 412 eligible respondents were included in discontinuation-related analyses, and the primary persistence analysis included 289 respondents who were still receiving Peg-IFN. The main outcomes included whether respondents had ever wanted to stop Peg-IFN due to adverse effects and a four-item persistence/value intention score. Psychological distress was assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire-4 (PHQ-4). Results Among 412 eligible respondents, 175 (42.5%) had wanted to stop Peg-IFN because of adverse effects, 136 (33.0%) had asked a physician about dose reduction or discontinuation, and 39 (9.5%) reported actual premature discontinuation. In the adjusted analysis, adverse-effect burden (odds ratio 1.86 per standard deviation (SD), 95% confidence interval 1.37–2.51) and the PHQ-4 score (odds ratio 1.76, 95% confidence interval 1.28–2.41) were associated with a history of adverse-effect-related discontinuation thoughts. Among 289 currently treated respondents, treatment belief ( β = 0.280, 95% confidence interval 0.198–0.362) and physician–patient communication ( β = 0.098, 95% confidence interval 0.017–0.179) were associated with higher persistence/value intention, while the PHQ-4 score was inversely associated with this outcome ( β = −0.081, 95% confidence interval −0.148 to −0.013). Conclusion Adverse-effect burden and current psychological distress were associated with a history of adverse-effect-related discontinuation thoughts, whereas treatment belief and physician–patient communication were associated with higher persistence/value intention among patients still receiving therapy. Prospective studies are needed to evaluate whether structured education, symptom and distress screening, and tiered follow-up improve the rates of treatment completion.

Source: Frontiers in Public Health

DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1972004

Authors: Ning Han, Huan Liu, Libo Yan, Hong Tang

Institutions: Sichuan University, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy

Language: English

Topic: Hepatitis B Virus Studies

Subfield: Epidemiology

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,801