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. 2022 Mar 12;14(6):1210.
doi: 10.3390/nu14061210.

Compliance with Gluten Free Diet Is Associated with Better Quality of Life in Celiac Disease

Raphaël Enaud  1 , Candice Tetard  1   2 , Raphaël Dupuis  2 , David Laharie  2 , Thierry Lamireau  1 , Frank Zerbib  2 , Pauline Rivière  2 , Sarah Shili-Mismoudi  2 , Florian Poullenot  2
Affiliations

Compliance with Gluten Free Diet Is Associated with Better Quality of Life in Celiac Disease

Raphaël Enaud et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

The quality of life (QOL) of patients with celiac disease (CD) can be altered by both symptoms of the disease and by the restrictions of the gluten-free diet (GFD). The objective was to determine the factors associated with better QOL in a large cohort of CD patients. A link to an online survey was sent to the members of the French Association of Gluten Intolerant People (AFDIAG). The French-Celiac Disease Questionnaire (F-CDQ), scoring from 0 to 100, was used to measure the QOL. Other data collected were sociodemographic characteristics, information on CD, purchasing and consumption habits of gluten-free products, and a self-assessment scale (ranging from 0 to 10) to determine the compliance with the GFD. Among the 907 CD patients who returned the questionnaire, 787 were analyzed (638 women (81%); median age: 49 years; 71% with self-assessed GFD compliance > 8). Their median F-CDQ was 73 (range: 59−82). In multivariate analysis, the main factors associated with a better quality of life were the long duration of the GFD, good compliance with the GFD, and the number of follow-up visits. Compliance with and duration of the GFD are associated with a better quality of life in patients with CD. Taking this into consideration would offset its restrictive aspect and improve its adherence.

Keywords: celiac disease; compliance; gluten free diet; quality of life.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow chart.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Correlation between total F-CDQ and GFD duration (A) and correlation between total F-CDQ and GFD compliance over the past 6 months (B).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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