AUTHOR=Iorfida Donatella , Valitutti Francesco , Vestri Annarita , Di Rocco Arianna , Cucchiara Salvatore , Lubrano Riccardo , Montuori Monica 

TITLE=Dietary Compliance and Quality of Life in Celiac Disease: A Long-Term Follow-Up of Primary School Screening-Detected Patients

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pediatrics

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pediatrics/articles/10.3389/fped.2021.787938

DOI=10.3389/fped.2021.787938

ISSN=2296-2360

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> Whether the diagnostic approach for celiac disease (CD) can really affect quality of life (QoL) and dietary compliance remains controversial.</p><p><bold>Aims:</bold> This study aimed to evaluate QoL and compliance to gluten-free diet (GFD) in adolescents/young adults diagnosed with CD through a screening strategy during childhood compared to age-matched CD patients diagnosed by case-finding and to assess whether follow-up at a referral center for CD influences compliance and QoL.</p><p><bold>Materials and Methods:</bold> Thirty-seven CD patients who were diagnosed by screening programs (SC-group) and 38 age-matched CD patients diagnosed due to symptoms (CF-group) were enrolled. Patients were asked to answer a questionnaire on QoL, dietary compliance, and follow-up care for CD.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Twenty-nine patients of the SC-group (median age 18.0 years, interquartile range [IQR] 16.0–19.0) and 31 patients of the CF-group (median age 17.0 years, IQR 15.5–18.0) completed the questionnaire. No significant difference relating adherence to the GFD and QoL was shown between the two groups. The majority (93.5%) of CF-group regularly had annual follow-up at a referral center compared to 37.9% of the SC-group (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001).</p><p><bold>Conclusion:</bold> The diagnostic strategy does not seem to impact QoL and dietary compliance. However, implementation of follow-up might still be necessary for patients identified through screening.</p>