Aspetti clinici e diagnostici della valutazione nutrizionale nella malattia celiaca

Our aim was to evaluate body composition in a group of new diagnosis of celiac disease adolescents on a gluten-free diet and to re-examine them at the end of the adolescent spurt. We Studied 48 patients (group 1A), 30 age-macthed healthy control (group 2A), 11 group 1A patient after 4 years (group 2B) and 11 adolescents who were age- and sex –matched with group 1B (group 2B). Weight, height, bone mineral content, fat mass, fat-free mass (FFM) and bone mineral density were evaluated using dual X-ray absorptiometry. All parameters were lower in group 1A than in group 2A subjects (p<0.001). After 4 years, the body compartments of group 1B coeliac disease patients normalised, except for weigth and FFM which remained lower than in group 2B subjects (p<0.005). In conclusion , our study demonstrates that adolescence is a period where some parameters of body composition can still recovered.