ADHERENCE TO GLUTEN-FREE DIET AND THE SOCIAL RELATED FACTORS IN ADULTS WITH THE CELIAC DISEASE.

Purpose: Lifelong dietary adherence is very important in celiac disease. Several factors may affect adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD). In this study, it was aimed to determine the adherence to a glutenfree diet (GFD) and the factors affecting social life in adults with celiac disease. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 98 adults diagnosed with celiac disease, using the telephone interview method of data collection. The level of adherence to GFD was accepted as the dependent variable. Several factors including age, gender, economic status, educational level, and marital status were considered as independent variables. Quantitative variables were compared using the student's t-test, while the Chi-square test was used for qualitative variables. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine related factors associated with "excellent" adherence to GFD. Results: 53.1% of the celiac patients reported their adherence to GFD was "excellent", 46.9% was "poor". The celiac patients' 61.2% reported difficulties about to access GFPs and 49.0% of them never consume commercial GFPs. Before eating out, 67.3% of the celiac patients call the restaurant to ask if they have a gluten-free menu. The celiac patients' 69.4% reported that they use a gluten-scanner application. The rate of "excellent" adherence to GFD of the celiac patients who had =4 family members were significantly lower (OR: 0.112 CI: 0.15-0.832, p=0.017). The celiac patients with =10 diagnosis years had significantly lower adherence to GFD (OR: 0.053 CI: 0.010-0.292, p=0.001). Gluten-scanner applications non-users had 0.163-fold lower "excellent" adherence to GFD (OR: 0.163 CI: 0.034-0.779, p=0.016). Conclusion: This study emphasizes that having nuclear family, new diagnosis, and use of mobile applications positively affect adherence to GFD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]