Quality of life in children and adolescents with celiac disease: Argentinian version of the specific questionnaire CDDUX

The treatment of the celiac disease implies lifelong alimentary restrictions, with impact on social and family activities. Therefore, it is important to consider the health-related quality of life (HRQL) in the approach. To validate the Argentinian version of the specific tool CDDUX in order to measure HRQL in children and adolescents with celiac disease. In this prospective and transversal investigation, children and adolescents from 8 to 18 years-old who attended the "Prof Dr. J P Garrahan" Hospital and their father or tutor were recruited, between June 2009 and May 2010. Participants were given the informed consent sheet, the Argentinian version of CDDUX, a visual analogue scale (VAS) and the PedsQL 4.0, generic questionnaire. Sociodemographic data were also registered. We included 193 patients, female 56.5%, with these age categories: 8 to 11 years-old 48.7%, 12 to 15 years-old 43%, 16 to 18 years-old 8.3%. Schooling was below the standard level in children in 23.4% of cases, primary school incomplete in adults in 11.4%. Socioeconomic status was poor in 24.4% of cases and indigent in 4.7%. Unsatisfied basic needs were observed in 41.5% of patients. The feasibility was: average filling time: 4 minutes in children and parents. All completed the questionnaire. Without help: 91.7% in children and 79.8% in parents. The reliability was: Cronbach alpha's internal consistency 0.84 in children and 0.88 in parents. The construction validity was: moderate correlation between CDDUX and PedsQL (P < 0.001), low between parents and children in CDDUX (P < 0.001), moderate and negative between CDDUX and VAS (P < 0.001). Scores of CDDUX were lower in poor people and significant for parents (P = 0.04). Higher scores of CDDUX were observed in those patients who complied with the gluten-free diet (P < 0001). Conclusion. The Argentinian version of CDDUX was both feasible and easy to administer in the studied population. It shows good psychometric properties in children and parents.