Quality of life in children with celiac disease: A paediatric cross-sectional study.
BACKGROUND
Few studies investigated factors influencing the quality of life of children with celiac disease on a gluten-free diet.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate the impact of the gluten-free diet on the psycho-physical well-being of celiac children.


METHODS
In this cross-sectional study, we interviewed 76 celiac and 143 non-celiac children (2-18 years) by using a non-disease specific questionnaire (Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Test) and we explored the impact of the diet on social life with an open-ended questionnaire. Scores were compared by Wilcoxon rank-sum test. A quantile regression analysis was used to evaluate the impact of celiac disease on score distribution.


RESULTS
No significant differences in quality of life were found between the two groups (total score: 84.1 (81.1-87.2) vs 81.5 (79.7-83.4), median (95% CI), patients and controls respectively, p=0.4). Treatment positively affected quality of life in children that showed "intermediate" scores in the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory Test. Lowest scores were observed in children reporting a higher number of diet difficulties or co-morbidities.


CONCLUSIONS
Although celiac patients showed an overall good quality of life in comparison with a control group, by using appropriate analytical methods we elicited specific factors contributing to a lower quality of life in patients, such as co-morbidities and difficulties with the diet.
Department of Pediatrics, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy. Electronic address: chiara.biagetti@ospedaliriuniti.marche.it.
Chiara
C
Biagetti
Centre of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Medical Information Technology, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy. Electronic address: r.gesuita@univpm.it.
Rosaria
R
Gesuita
Department of Pediatrics, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy. Electronic address: simona.gatti@hotmail.it.
Simona
S
Gatti
Department of Pediatrics, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy. Electronic address: c.catassi@univpm.it.
Carlo
C
Catassi
D000293:Adolescent; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D055050:Diet, Gluten-Free / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D058992:Social Participation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Child; Gluten-free diet; Health-related quality of life