NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND MICRONUTRIENT LEVELS OF CHILDREN WITH CELIAC DISEASE BEFORE AND AFTER GLUTEN FREE DIET

Introduction: Celiac disease is an autoimmune inflammatory disorder ofsmall intestine precipitated by ingestion of gluten. Clinical and histological improvement occurs on withdrawal of glutenfrom the diet. Objectives: The present study were to identify the trace mineral deficiency in newly diagnosed celiacchildren and to assess how far these deficiencies are corrected after strict gluten free diet. The study also assessedthe nutritional status of celiac children compared to the healthy controls before and after Gluten Free Diet. Setting:Department of Pediatrics Punjab Medical College Faisalabad. Duration: January 2004 to March 2005. Study Design:Interventional case control study. Patients and Methods: 22 children aged 2 to 14 years diagnosed as Celiac diseaseon the basis of typical intestinal biopsy findings were included. 15 healthy children served as controls. Anthropometricmeasurements and serum Zinc Copper Magnesium and Iron along with albumin were done for both patients andcontrols initially and repeated after 6 months while patients were receiving strict GFD and controls receiving normaldiet. The general linear model was used for the analysis of variance using SPSS (2004). Results: Serum Zinc wasbelow the reference range in 68%. Serum copper and Magnesium in 31%, Iron in 95%and albumin in 59% of thepatients. There was a statistically significant increase in serum zinc, iron and magnesium levels (p value, < 0 05) whileserum copper and albumin did not show any significant rise after Gluten free diet. Control group did not show any significant change in their trace mineral levels .Celiac patients gained more weight (mean 4.47 versus 2.91 cm) andheight (3.34cm versus 1.022 cm) as compared to the control group. Conclusion: Celiac children receiving strict Glutenfree diet and showing good clinical response probably do not need mineral supplementation.