Abstract

Author(s): Machado, J.; Gandolfi, L.; Coutinho de Almeida, F.; Malta Almeida, L.; Puppin Zandonadi, R.; Pratesi, R.

This study assessed the adherence to treatment of celiac disease (CD) patients being followed at Brasilia’s University Hospital. Forty-six CD patients underwent structural interviews. Their answers were compared with their IgA-tTG test results to determine their level of compliance with a gluten-free diet (GDF). The serological test results showed that 56.5% of the patients did not follow a GFD. Consumption of processed gluten-free foods (GFF) was significantly associated with IgA-tTG test result. Eighteen patients had other diseases in addition to CD and 77.8% of these had positive IgA-tTG results. 90.0% of the patients who presented negative serological test results attended the follow-up visits regularly. Adherence to treatment by this group of CD patients is low although most of them report complying with the diet. Compliance is affected by consumption of GFF, follow-up attendance and presence of other diseases. Awareness of these factors allows the establishment of actions that are beneficial to the celiac‘s treatment.