Better dietary compliance in patients with coeliac disease diagnosed in early childhood.
BACKGROUND
In coeliac disease (CD) there is a permanent gluten intolerance requiring life-long adherence to a strict gluten-free diet (GFD). An inadequate diet increases the risk for long-term complications. Coeliac patients often have great difficulty in maintaining a strictly GFD. We aimed to study whether young adults with CD diagnosed before the age of 4 years have a better dietary compliance than patients diagnosed later in life.


METHODS
Twenty-nine adults with CD diagnosed in childhood were studied. They had had CD for 17-24 (mean 20) years. Their compliance to GFD was assessed using a questionnaire and serological markers (IgA and IgG anti-endomysium antibodies and IgA anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies).


RESULTS
At least 80% of the coeliac patients who had been diagnosed before the age of 4 years complied with the GFD compared to 36% of the CD patients older than 4 years at diagnosis (P < 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first study to show that patients with CD diagnosed before 4 years of age keep to a GFD significantly better than patients diagnosed after 4 years. It is thus important to diagnose childhood CD as early as possible in order to minimize the risk for reduced well-being and other potentially serious complications in coeliac individuals on an inadequate diet.
Högberg
L
L
Dept. of Paediatrics, Linköping University, Norrköping Hospital, Norrköping, Sweden. lotta.hogberg@lio.se
Grodzinsky
E
E
Stenhammar
L
L
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D017668:Age of Onset; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000097:blood; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009210:Myofibrils / Q000276:immunology; D010349:Patient Compliance; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D011503:Transglutaminases / Q000276:immunology
D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D011503:Transglutaminases