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The effect of gluten‐free diet on body mass index in paediatric celiac disease
Author(s) -
Anafy Adi,
Cohen Shlomi,
Ben Tov Amir,
Amir Achiya,
Weintraub Yael,
MoranLev Hadar,
Dali Levy Margalit,
Ankona Bussel Maayan,
Yerushalmy Feler Anat
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
acta paediatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/apa.15787
Subject(s) - medicine , underweight , overweight , body mass index , pediatrics , anthropometry , short stature , gluten free , disease
Aim More normal weight and overweight children are currently diagnosed with celiac disease (CD). We aimed to describe the relation between body mass index (BMI) and the clinical characteristics of paediatric CD and to determine the effect of a gluten‐free diet (GFD) on BMI. Methods Data on all children diagnosed with CD during 7/2010–7/2019 with documented anthropometric data at diagnosis were retrospectively analysed. The children were divided into three groups according to BMI status at diagnosis: underweight, normal weight and overweight (BMIs <5%, 5%–85% and >85%, respectively). Results Of the 236 children [median age 7.87 (4.91–11) years] included in the study, 24 (10.1%) were underweight at diagnosis and 32 (13.6%) were overweight. Diarrhoea as the presenting symptom was significantly more common in the overweight group ( p = 0.012), while short stature was more common in the underweight group ( p = 0.002). Following a GFD had no significant effect on the children's BMI during a median follow‐up of 15.7 (0–85) months, but there was a significant shift of patients between the BMI categories ( p < 0.001). Conclusion Although a shift of patients between the BMI categories was observed, following a GFD did not significantly affect the overall BMI in children with CD.