Adherence to the Gluten-free Diet and Health-related Quality of Life in an Ethnically Diverse Pediatric Population With Celiac Disease

Objectives: Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disease that requires lifelong adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD). Adherence to the GFD in childhood may be poor and adversely influence health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The study purpose was to determine sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors influencing adherence to the GFD and HRQOL in a multiethnic cohort of youth with CD. Methods: A multisite (Edmonton, Hamilton, Toronto) study examining child-parent HRQOL in youth with CD (n = 243) and/or mild gastrointestinal complaints (GI-CON; n = 148) was conducted. Sociodemographic (age, child-parental age/education/ethnicity/place of birth), anthropometric (weight, height, body mass index), disease (diagnosis, age at diagnosis, duration, Marsh score, serology), household characteristics (income, family size, region, number of children/total household size), HRQOL (Peds TM4.0/KINDL and Celiac Disease DUX), GI Complaints (PedsQL: Gastrointestinal Symptom Scale) and gluten intake were measured. Results: Younger age (
Source: Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition - Category: Gastroenterology Tags: Original Article: Gastroenterology: Celiac Disease Source Type: research