A prospective study of catch-up growth among Indian children with celiac disease

Abstract

Objectives: The study was done to investigate the response of the gluten-free diet (GFD) on growth and other biochemical parameters in newly diagnosed children with celiac disease (CD). We also determined the association of Marsh biopsy classification and the response in haematological parameters among the children with GFD over the follow-up time. Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted for 1.5 years where children aged 1–10 years with newly confirmed CD (as per Marsh classification) without pre-existing chronic disease were enrolled. Individual anthropometry, biochemical and haematological parameters were recorded on enrolment and compared with 1, 3 and 6 months (follow-up) after initiating GFD (as per World Health Organization growth charts). Statistical Analysis: The data were entered in MS Excel spreadsheet and analysis was done using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 21.0. A P value of 0.05). Conclusions: GFD showed significant improvement in the growth and development of the child with a significant reduction in anaemia at 6 months. With increasing grade of Marsh biopsy, the severity of anaemia increases but after the initiation of GFD, such children show significantly better improvement in %Hb over time.

Keywords

• anthropometry
• celiac disease
• gluten-free diet
• growth