Depression-anxiety Levels and the Quality of Life Among Children and Adolescents with Coeliac Disease

Depression-anxiety levels and the quality of life among children and adolescents with coeliac disease Objective: Coeliac disease is a chronic and inflammatory disease of the upper small intestine resulting from faulty gluten ingestion in genetically susceptible individuals. There is no sufficient data about the psychiatric symptoms and quality of life in children and adolescents with coeliac disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the quality of life in children and adolescents with coeliac disease. Methods: Thirty children and adolescents with coeliac disease and 30 healthy controls were included in the study. Children Depression Inventory (CDI), State and Trait Inventory for Children (STAI-C) and Quality of Life Inventory for Child and Adolescents (PedsQL) were performed. Chi-square and t-test were used for statistical evaluations. Results: Of the children and adolescents with coeliac disease, 56.7% were male and the mean age was 11.6±3.1. There were no statistically significant difference in the mean scores of CDI and STAI-C between the study group and healthy controls. But psychosocial and total mean scores of quality of life were found statistically significantly different. Conclusions: In this study, no difference was found in depression and anxiety levels among children and adolescents with coeliac disease and healthy controls. However, coeliac disease has a negative effect on the quality of life and this might be related to dietary treatment.