[Diet among patients with celiac disease. Do patients comply with a gluten-free diet?]

We studied dietary compliance retrospectively among 28 coeliac patients, 18 adults (15-68 years) and 10 children (1-14 years) by means of a self-administered frequency questionnaire. 50% of the participants ate foods that were not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Four adult patients (22%) with certainty did not keep to a strictly gluten-free diet. Lack of dietary compliance was not detected among children. The patients had received information on diet shortly after the disease had been diagnosed during the period 1964-81. The most frequent source of information about gluten-free diet was the physician, but information from the Norwegian Coeliac Association and from clinical nutritionists was rated as more useful. 24 patients reported experiencing social and practical problems related to the gluten-free diet.