Chantzaras Athanasios, Yfantopoulos John, Koutsogianni Katerina
National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
PanHellenic Federation of Patients, Parents, Caregivers and Friends of Children with Rheumatic Diseases (RHEUMAZIN), Athens, Greece.
Mediterr J Rheumatol. 2024 Dec 31;35(4):608-616. doi: 10.31138/mjr.140323.kaa. eCollection 2024 Dec.
To assess patients' understanding and attitudes towards biosimilars in rheumatoid diseases in Greece.
A convenience sample of patients with rheumatoid diseases who were members of the largest rheumatoid patient association (RHEUMAZIN) in Greece was selected for this survey. Data on patients' knowledge and attitudes towards biosimilars were collected with a web-based questionnaire.
Among the 309 patients, 60.2% were being treated with bio-originator products, 11% with biosimilars and another 28.8% did not know the type of their biologic therapy. Only 43.7% of the respondents reported they had adequate information about biologic treatments. About 47.9% knew what biosimilars are exactly and 81.2% stated that they need more information about them. The most influential patient information sources about biologics were rheumatologists (88.3%), the Internet (45%), and patient associations (40.5%). Only about 55-60% of the participants thought that biosimilars are comparable to their reference products in terms of safety, effectiveness, quality and regulatory requirements. Patients with adequate knowledge about biosimilars were significantly less concerned about switching from their reference products. A higher education level, previous biosimilar treatment experience, having rheumatologists, patient associations, regulatory bodies and the internet as main information sources, being better informed about the disease, biologic therapies and biosimilars, working and having adequate information about biosimilars were univariately associated with a significantly higher likelihood of having a positive attitude towards biosimilars.
There is an urgent need for patient education about biosimilars in rheumatic diseases in Greece to enhance patient knowledge and ensure informed decisions on biosimilar use.
评估希腊类风湿疾病患者对生物类似药的理解和态度。
选取希腊最大的类风湿患者协会（RHEUMAZIN）成员中患有类风湿疾病的患者作为便利样本进行本次调查。通过网络问卷收集患者对生物类似药的知识和态度数据。
在309名患者中，60.2%正在接受生物原研产品治疗，11%接受生物类似药治疗，另有28.8%不知道自己生物治疗的类型。只有43.7%的受访者表示他们对生物治疗有足够的了解。约47.9%的人知道生物类似药到底是什么，81.2%的人表示他们需要更多关于生物类似药的信息。关于生物制剂，最具影响力的患者信息来源是风湿病学家（88.3%）、互联网（45%）和患者协会（40.5%）。只有约55 - 60%的参与者认为生物类似药在安全性、有效性、质量和监管要求方面与它们的参照产品相当。对生物类似药有足够了解的患者对从参照产品换药的担忧明显更少。更高的教育水平、以前的生物类似药治疗经验、将风湿病学家、患者协会、监管机构和互联网作为主要信息来源、对疾病、生物治疗和生物类似药有更好的了解、有工作以及对生物类似药有足够的了解，这些因素在单因素分析中与对生物类似药持积极态度的可能性显著更高相关。
希腊迫切需要对类风湿疾病患者进行关于生物类似药的教育，以增强患者知识并确保在生物类似药使用方面做出明智的决策。
