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Background & Aim: There is a paucity of data reflecting the symptomatic responses to dietary gluten (SRDG) in patients with Coeliac Disease (CD). We aimed to determine the type, timing and severity of SRDG with reference to a range of disease-related factors. Methods: Postal survey of 224 biopsy-proven patients including gluten-free diet (GFD) adherence, symptom checklist, ROME II criteria and The Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale. Case-note review was also conducted. Results: 26% of respondents were male. Full GFD adherence: n=159 (70%). Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS): n=50 (22%). Anxiety: n=30 (13%); Depression: n=33 (14%); Anxiety & Depression: n=72 (32%). Pruritus, fatigue and bloating were a more common SRDG in the partial/none GFD adherent group (p=ns). Co-existing IBS was associated with a greater prevalence of nausea and fatigue in response to gluten (p=<0.05). Fully GFD adherent patients are more likely to have SRDG <1hr than partial/none adherent (OR 4.8; p=0.004), as are a third of patients with co-existing IBS (OR 1.5; p=0.027) and those patients at risk of both anxiety and depression (OR 1.9; p=0.04). Inadvertent exposure to dietary gluten in the fully GFD adherent group is more likely to result in a severe SRDG in comparison to symptoms arising prior to consistent GFD adherence (OR 2.3; p=0.01). IBS sufferers are also more likely to rate their SRDG as severe in nature (OR 1.4; p=0.038). Conclusion: Patients with consistent GFD adherence experience a SRDG faster and more severe in comparison to prior gluten exposure possibly demonstrating an adept immunological response. Anxiety and depression also enhance the speed of symptom onset and co-existing visceral hypersensitivity is a risk factor for severe reactions to dietary gluten. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Coeliac Disease (CD) is an increasingly common autoimmune condition, the treatment of which is a gluten-free diet (GFD). Previous studies fail to reach consensus of the impact this restrictive diet has on an individual's quality of life (QoL). Furthermore, how patient characteristics, such as demographic and educational background, may predict GFD adherence is poorly understood. We aimed to assess which factors had an impact on Qol in patients with CD. Methods: Case-control postal survey (n=573). Biopsy-proven CD patients (n=225; mean disease duration 8yrs; range 0.5-S2yrs; male 26%) and age and sex matched controls (n=348; male 36%) completed The Short-Form 36-Item (SF-36) Q0L measure, The Hospital Anxiety & Depression Scale (HADS), GFD assessment, and demographic questionnaire. Results: We found a high proportion of GFD adherence: `Full Adherence' 65%, `Partial Adherence' 31%, `None Adherence' 4%, accompanied however, by 80% of patients reporting difficulty adhering to the GFD: 'Impossible' 5%, 'Mostly difficult' 14%, 'Sometimes difficult' 61%, 'No difficulty' 20%. Negligible differences in QoL scores were observed when comparing full versus partial/none GFD patients (P>0.05), however, stepwise reductions in Q0L and increasing likelihood of anxiety/depression were found in association with increasing degree of difficulty adhering to the GFD (P<0.000l). Demographic assessment suggests that an affluent background and a university education promote greater GFD adherence. Conclusions: Most coeliac patients adhere to a GFD but encounter difficulty doing so (potentially influenced by social and educational background). The degree of GFD difficulty is associated with reductions in patient wellbeing and psychological distress that the dietician is critically placed to address. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]