Background:

The health-related quality of life of people with celiac disease may be influenced by adherence to a gluten-free diet.

Objectives:

To describe the demographic and clinical characteristics of celiac patients, to evaluate dietary adherence with the Leffler CDAT questionnaire, and to measure self-perceived quality of life using the CD-QOL questionnaire.

Material and Methods:

Observational, cross-sectional, and prospective design. A telematic survey was applied to adolescents and adults in Paraguay, diagnosed with celiac disease, between February and April 2021, who agreed to participate in the study. Dietary adherence was determined with the Celiac Dietary Adherence Test of Leffler and quality of life with the test CD-QOL of Dorn. Demographic and clinical variables were also measured. The research was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Universidad Privada del Este, in Paraguay.

Results:

The sample consisted of 344 study subjects of which 87% belonged to the female sex. The mean age of the adolescents was 15 ±1 years, and that of the adults was 38 ±13 years. Adherence to a gluten-free diet was found in 78% (n=268) of those surveyed, it was good in 59%, moderate in 19%, and bad in 22%. The quality of life was good in 30% (n=103) of the subjects and bad in 70% (n 241). It was found an association between subjects with no or bad adherence to the diet with bad quality of life (p<0.006).

Conclusion:

In the celiac patients studied, poor adherence to the gluten-free diet is associated with worse health-related quality of life.

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