Analysis of Body Composition and Food Habits of Spanish Celiac Women

Abstract

The purpose of the present work was both to analyze composition of Spanish celiac women and to study the food habits and gluten-free diet of these celiac patients, in order to determine whether they achieve a balanced and healthy diet as well as to highlight nutritional qualitative and/or quantitative differences. 54 adult celiac women (34 ± 13 years) took part in the six-month study. Height, weight and body composition were measured. An analysis of energy consumption and of the macronutrient distribution of their diet was carried out. Their fulfillment of micronutrient intake recommendations was verified. Participants showed a Body Mass Index of 21.6 ± 2.4 kg/m2. Energy Intake was slightly lower than the Dietary Reference Intakes. Excessive protein apart from over-consumption of fat was observed. More than three quarters of participants consumed meat in excess. Carbohydrate consumption along with that of fiber was below recommended levels. Vitamin D, iron, and iodine had a low percentage of recommendation compliance. In general, participants followed the recommendations of dairy products and fruit intake whereas vegetable consumption was not enough for the vast majority. We conclude that although the diet of celiac women does not differ much from the diet of general population, some considerations, such as reducing fat and protein consumption and increasing fiber intake, must be taken into account.

Tools Used to Measure the Physical State of Women with Celiac Disease: A Review with a Systematic Approach

“…When making a diagnosis of CD, it is very important to know if the patient suffers from the different symptoms; since studies that diagnose CD are invasive analyses [4,5,9,10,20,22,24,26,27,[30][31][32]37,39,41,43,45,46,[49][50][51]58]. Therefore, before requesting the analyses, it is useful to perform a Celiac Symptom Index test to identify the symptoms apart from the clear use of the clinical history; in this way, a better diagnosis can be made [57].…”

“…When talking about avoiding different diseases caused by the lack of treatment of CD; it is important to consider the quality of life and the psychological state of the patients in addition to compliance with the diet, since factors such as anxiety, depression, and poor quality of life can cause patients to abandon their treatment or can interrupt them from time to time [5,52,53,58]. Despite this, the tools to measure the psychological state of patients are generally not used due to lack of knowledge or time while consulting.…”

“…In the different studies, factors that help to measure fertility were measured, such as the anti-Müllerian hormone, since we speak of middle-aged adult women [39]. They also used routine physical examinations such as weight [5,7,10,20,26,27,32,51], height [5,7,10,20,26,27,32,51], body mass index (BMI, a formula that uses weight and height) [5,7,10,20,26,27,32,51], fat mass, and energy consumption [4,5], which were compared with their clinical analysis to be able to complement the patient's profile and to make a diagnosis. Analysis of the food consumed can also be found in order to help the patient with his or her nutritional treatment, which is the only known treatment for CD [5].…”

“…Different tests that help the health personnel to know the physical and psychological states of the patients with CD have been found in the different studies and is very important because it affects the adherence to treatments for a good state of health [5,52,53].…”

“…Celiac disease (CD) is an immunological disorder that mainly affects the small intestine, generating an inflammatory process in response to the presence of gluten (a protein found mainly in wheat, barley, and rye, among other contaminated foods like oatmeal) [1][2][3][4]. It is currently estimated that 1% of the world population suffers from CD; it mainly occurs in women, with a probability of 2:1 [3,5]. The average age for diagnosis is around 45 years in Europe in the last 10 years; in Spain, the last analysis said that most of the diagnoses occur in persons over 20 years.…”