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. Aims: 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.