Psychological well-being of adult coeliac patients treated for 10 years

Adults with longstanding coeliac disease generally report reduced quality of life. Uncertainty remains whether this is a sign of depression, thought to be a feature of the disorder.

To assess the psychological well-being in adults with long-treated coeliac disease.

Fifty-one coeliac disease adults (59% women) aged 45-64 years diagnosed in 1984-1988 and showing evidence of remission 8-12 years later were examined by the Psychological General Well-being index. One hundred and eighty-two (57% women) adults of same age served as population controls.

The coeliac disease patients showed no more signs of anxiety, depressed mood or distress than the controls as assessed by the Psychological General Well-being index, 103 (95% confidence interval (95% CI)=99-107) versus 103 (95% CI=100-106). However, unlike controls, the coeliac disease women showed a significantly lower Psychological General Well-being index than the coeliac disease men, 97 (95% CI=91-103) versus 111 (95% CI=106-117) (P<0.003).

Long-treated adult coeliac disease patients showed no difference in psychological well-being to population controls, suggesting that signs of depressed mood is no feature of well-treated coeliac disease. The observation that coeliac disease women living in Sweden experience poorer outcome of treatment than coeliac disease men is a cause of concern and calls for further studies.