Folate Content of Gluten Free Food Purchases and Child Dietary Intake in Households with Children with Celiac Disease

• Author / Creator

  Liu, Amanda

• Celiac Disease (CD) is a gastrointestinal autoimmune disorder that can only be treated by the Gluten Free Diet (GFD). Children with CD on the GFD may face macro-and micronutrient imbalances (1-3) due to the high fat/sugar and low micronutrient content of many processed Gluten Free (GF) foods. (4, 5) Information is limited regarding the folate content of food purchases in households with children who have CD and follow the GFD. The study objective was to examine folate content and intake of GF-foods purchased by households with children with CD. The presented study is a secondary, cross-sectional analysis of households with children with CD (n=73) on the folate content of food purchases and the dietary folate intake of children with CD following the GFD (n=78). Median (IQR) age and family size was 10.5 years (8-14) and 4 people (4-5), respectively. Thirty six percent of families had a positive family history of CD. Naturally occurring and certified GF food made up 76% (n=12,460) of food purchases with the remaining 24% (n=4,010) of products containing gluten. Median folate content of purchased foods was 15μg DFE/100g weight of food (IQR: 5-36) with legumes being the most folate-rich food item. Twenty-two children (n=22, 29%) met the folate EAR with low folate intakes (198μg DFE (IQR: 138-259)). Higher folate intake/folate content of GF-food purchased was related to maternal education (university or above) and younger child age. Supplementation with 400μg DFE can provide enough to help all children and adolescents meet the EAR for folate for age and sex. Low folate intake/folate content of household GF-food purchases highlights the increased risk of folate deficiency. Consideration for supplementation or folate fortification policies is needed for the benefit of children with CD on the GFD.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Gluten Free Diet
  • Dietary Intake
  • Food Purchases
  • Celiac Disease
  • Folate

• Graduation date

  Spring 2020

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/r3-hb2a-xk14

• License

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