Role of resilience and social support in dietary adherence and alleviating celiac disease symptoms

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the association between resilience and social support with dietary adherence and symptom alleviation in celiac disease patients, while also exploring the effects of gender and disease severity. METHODS: This cross-sectional study involved 73 patients, consisting of 20 men (27.4%) and 53 women (72.6%), recruited from three tertiary care hospitals (Mayo Hospital, Services Hospital, and Sir Ganga Ram Hospital) in Lahore, Pakistan between January 2022 and August 2023. Following ethical guidelines, participants completed a demographic form and four validated psychometric instruments Resilience Scale-25, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, Celiac Dietary Adherence Test and The Celiac Symptom Index. Patients with comorbidities such as diabetes, arthritis, renal issues, or cancer were excluded. Data were analyzed using SPSS V24.0. RESULTS: Mean age of participants was 30.15±1.13 years. Among the 73 participants, 16 (21.91%) were in stage 1, 20 (27.39%) in stage 2, 20 (27.39%) in stage 3, and 17 (23.28%) in stage 4 of CD. Resilience was significantly associated with adherence to a gluten-free diet (r = .73, p < .01), and other resilience factors also positively influenced dietary compliance. Additionally, participants receiving social support showed a greater tendency to adhere to the dietary regimen (r = .78, p < .01). However, dietary adherence and symptom alleviation varied by disease stage, with no significant gender differences observed. CONCLUSION: Resilience and social support enhance the likelihood of adhering to a gluten-free diet and managing symptoms, regardless of gender. However, the severity of illness can hinder symptom alleviation in celiac disease patients.