Knowledge and practices of mothers with children with celiac disease

Abstract

Introduction: Celiac disease (CD) is an auto-immune disease caused by the ingestion of gluten. CD treatment is based on a lifelong gluten-free diet (GFD). Our study aimed at assessing the knowledge of celiac children's mothers about CD and GFD and their practices. Methods: A study based on a questionnaire conducted in February and March 2021 in 38 mothers of 39 celiac children managed in Tunis. Results: Our patients were 8.1±4.19 years old on average. Of the 11 questions about CD, 17.9% of the mothers answered all the questions correctly. The knowledge was better when the patient was young, and the educational and socio-economic levels were higher. All patients were exposed to gluten contamination from at least one of the 33 non-permitted foods studied. 30.8% of the mothers did not read labels on packaged foods. Conclusion: Improving the education of patients and their parents is essential to optimize the knowledge of CD and GFD, labeling use, and cross-contamination limitation.