Table 2.
Current difficulties and challenges experienced when following a gluten‐free (GF) diet (in %, total N = 766) of participants with ≥ 1 year passed since diagnosis (N = 721) and of participants with < 1 year passed since diagnosis (N = 45).
| ≥ 1 year passed since diagnosis (N = 721) | < 1 year passed since diagnosis (N = 45) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Never/rarely | Sometimes | Often/very often | Never/rarely | Sometimes | Often/very often | |
| Food purchases | ||||||
| Hard to tell from the ingredient list if a packaged food is GF** | 75.8 | 16.6 | 7.6 | 62.2 | 15.6 | 22.3 |
| I can find a variety of GF foods in local stores | 2.1 | 18.5 | 79.4 | 4.4 | 15.6 | 80.0 |
| Resent time needed to read all ingredient lists** | 41.5 | 33.5 | 25.1 | 20.0 | 40.0 | 40.0 |
| Frustrated with the variety of names for gluten on food labels** | 54.4 | 24.3 | 21.4 | 36.3 | 29.5 | 34.1 |
| Food preparation | ||||||
| Difficult to prepare both GF and gluten‐containing meals | 35.0 | 23.8 | 41.2 | 40.0 | 23.3 | 36.6 |
| Frustrating to bake with GF flours in favourite recipes** | 43.9 | 27.3 | 28.9 | 21.4 | 26.2 | 52.4 |
| Limited GF choices for carried lunches | 10.7 | 24.1 | 65.2 | 7.0 | 23.3 | 69.8 |
| GF meals are more difficult to prepare** | 46.0 | 34.1 | 19.9 | 33.3 | 31.1 | 35.6 |
| Have to cook more often | 20.5 | 10.7 | 68.8 | 29.6 | 9.1 | 61.4 |
| Enjoy the challenge of making GF foods* | 36.0 | 34.5 | 29.5 | 50.0 | 38.6 | 11.3 |
| I only cook gluten‐free for the whole family | 13.0 | 13.8 | 73.3 | 25.0 | 9.1 | 65.9 |
| I store gluten‐free foods in a separate area* | 13.4 | 4.6 | 82.0 | 22.7 | 11.4 | 65.9 |
| Eating with friends/family | ||||||
| My friends understand my dietary needs | 5.2 | 24.5 | 70.3 | 8.9 | 24.4 | 66.6 |
| People think a little gluten will not hurt me | 44.6 | 26.0 | 29.4 | 37.8 | 26.7 | 35.6 |
| Embarrassed by my dietary needs | 44.6 | 26.0 | 29.4 | 37.8 | 26.7 | 35.6 |
| Feel that I am a burden | 13.8 | 27.6 | 58.6 | 11.1 | 22.2 | 66.7 |
| Bring my own food when visiting | 7.3 | 26.0 | 66.7 | 11.3 | 13.6 | 75.0 |
| Hard to ask others to accommodate my GF diet | 29.7 | 27.6 | 42.8 | 28.9 | 26.7 | 44.4 |
| Avoid going to social events involving food | 32.4 | 35.5 | 32.0 | 36.4 | 31.8 | 31.8 |
| Check ingredient lists on the foods I eat when at family/friends | 12.2 | 16.6 | 71.2 | 14.2 | 11.9 | 73.9 |
| Do not like others to feel sorry for me | 12.8 | 18.0 | 69.3 | 26.7 | 17.8 | 55.6 |
| Find it difficult to refuse gluten‐containing foods offered to me | 74.9 | 13.1 | 11.9 | 73.4 | 15.6 | 11.1 |
| Invite friends/family to eat at my home instead of going to a restaurant | 16.7 | 20.2 | 63.0 | 13.3 | 22.2 | 64.4 |
| Eating at school/work | ||||||
| GF meals are available | 80.0 | 13.1 | 6.9 | 82.1 | 14.3 | 3.6 |
| Difficult to bring own food | 44.5 | 37.3 | 18.2 | 47.5 | 35.0 | 17.5 |
| Embarrassed about my GF diet | 52.0 | 25.9 | 22.1 | 47.5 | 20.0 | 32.5 |
| Feeling left out because of my GF diet | 25.9 | 42.8 | 31.3 | 29.7 | 32.4 | 37.8 |
| Difficult for me to be the centre of attention because of my GF diet | 11.9 | 21.1 | 67.0 | 18.0 | 25.6 | 56.4 |
| Have snacks on hand | 5.5 | 15.8 | 78.8 | 5.0 | 20.0 | 75.0 |
| Talk to others about coeliac disease and the GF diet | 9.8 | 35.3 | 55.0 | 15.0 | 17.5 | 67.5 |
| Business meals/events stress me | 7.2 | 20.2 | 72.6 | 3.3 | 23.3 | 73.3 |
| If an event involves food, remind people about my GF diet | 24.8 | 22.4 | 52.8 | 30.5 | 33.3 | 36.1 |
| Offer to bring a GF dish to events involving food | 10.0 | 17.4 | 72.7 | 7.9 | 26.3 | 65.8 |
| Restaurant visits | ||||||
| Limited restaurant choices | 2.1 | 8.2 | 89.7 | 2.3 | 15.9 | 81.8 |
| Frustrated because of limited choices in the restaurant | 8.7 | 24.0 | 50.4 | 8.9 | 24.4 | 66.7 |
| Enquire about the gluten content of all foods (incl. seasoning sauces) | 27.2 | 13.5 | 59.2 | 27.9 | 16.3 | 55.8 |
| Worry about the cook's knowledge of how to prepare GF food | 7.7 | 18.5 | 73.8 | 8.9 | 20.0 | 71.1 |
| Use the internet to find restaurants that serve GF foods | 3.0 | 8.7 | 88.3 | 0.0 | 11.1 | 88.8 |
| Limited choices at fast food restaurants | 1.8 | 6.9 | 91.3 | 5.1 | 0.0 | 94.9 |
| Enjoy going out to eat as much as I did before my GF diet | 66.7 | 18.0 | 15.3 | 72.7 | 13.6 | 13.6 |
| Travelling | ||||||
| Worry about travelling because of my dietary restrictions | 39.6 | 30.5 | 29.9 | 29.3 | 43.9 | 26.8 |
| Enjoy travelling as much as I did before my GF diet | 42.8 | 21.9 | 35.5 | 45.0 | 27.5 | 27.5 |
| Difficult to bring own GF food while travelling | 19.7 | 35.9 | 44.5 | 13.2 | 31.6 | 55.2 |
| Worry that I cannot find GF foods while travelling* | 18.1 | 26.5 | 55.5 | 4.7 | 27.9 | 67.4 |
| Sad that I cannot eat many of the local food specialties | 7.8 | 14.7 | 77.5 | 2.6 | 18.4 | 78.9 |
| Embarrassed to ask for GF food everywhere while travelling | 27.8 | 24.8 | 47.5 | 17.9 | 25.6 | 56.4 |
| Travelling abroad is difficult because I cannot read the packages to determine if the food is gluten‐free | 31.3 | 35.2 | 33.4 | 25.8 | 35.5 | 38.7 |
| Others | ||||||
| Feel guilty when thinking about possibly passing the disease on to my children/grandchildrena | 37.2 | 22.8 | 33.7 | 26.7 | 22.2 | 40.0 |
| Feel in control of my GF diet** | 1.0 | 7.4 | 91.2 | 2.2 | 28.9 | 68.9 |
Abbreviation: GF, gluten‐free.
a
Data omitted for ≥ 1 year passed since diagnosis (n = 45) and for < 1 year passed since diagnosis (n = 5).
*
p < 0.05.
**
p < 0.01 (T test).