Table 2.
Knowledge assessed: Coeliac disease (CeD) vs. irritable bowel disease (IBD), and CeD vs. healthy subjects.
| Score Range | CeD n = 96 |
IBD n = 96 |
HS n = 65 |
p CeD vs. IBD |
p CeD vs. HS |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dietary Recommendation—mean (SD) | 4–8 | 6.30 (0.59) | 6.1 (0.77) | 5.9 (0.74) | 0.09 | 0.008 |
| 1. Awareness of the recommended proportions of foods to achieve the ideal daily balance—mean (SD) | 1.57 (0.23) | 1.48 (0.21) | 1.46 (0.19) | 0.005 | 0.003 | |
| 2. Awareness of how many servings of fruit and vegetables experts suggest to eat every day—% of correct answers | 15.6 | 19.8 | 27.7 | 0.28 | 0.06 | |
| 3. Awareness of types of fat experts recommend to cut down—% of correct answers | 51.0 | 55.2 | 63.1 | 0.56 | 0.13 | |
| 4. Awareness of which foods experts recommend to eat less, same or more—mean (SD) | 1.39 (0.11) | 1.35 (0.14) | 1.40 (0.13) | 0.01 | 0.75 | |
| Nutrient Source—mean (SD) | 2–4 | 3.10 (0.45) | 3.17 (0.29) | 3.03 (0.52) | 0.4 | 0.85 |
| 5. Knowledge of the main dietary sources of oily fish—% of correct answers | 17.7 | 4.2 | 21.5 | 0.003 | 0.54 | |
| 6. Knowledge of foods containing high and low amounts of dietary fibre—mean (SD) | 1.28 (0.21) | 1.22 (0.19) | 1.24 (0.23) | 0.03 | 0.33 | |
| Healthiest Meal Option—mean (SD) | 4–8 | 5.42 (1.03) | 5.31 (1.04) | 5.01 (0.9) | 1 | 0.04 |
| 7. Healthiest sandwich option—% of correct answers | 51.0 | 58.3 | 69.2 | 0.31 | 0.02 | |
| 8. Best choice for high fibre and low-fat meal—% of correct answers | 64.6 | 53.1 | 66.1 | 0.10 | 0.8 | |
| 9. Healthiest pasta with sauce option—% of correct answers | 52.1 | 68.7 | 75.4 | 0.02 | 0.003 | |
| 10. Best low-fat grilled meat option—% of correct answers | 90.6 | 88.5 | 87.7 | 0.63 | 0.5 | |
| Knowledge about the association between diet and disease—mean (SD) | 5–10 | 7.68 (1.30) | 7.44 (1.28) | 7.15 (1.2) | 0.64 | 0.03 |
| 11. Association between disease and low fibre intake—% of correct answers | 19.8 | 19.8 | 16.9 | 1 | 0.64 | |
| 11a. Association between disease and fruit and vegetables intake—% of correct answers |
8.3 | 12.5 | 23.3 | 0.34 | 0.009 | |
| 11b. Association between disease and fat intake—% of correct answers | 68.8 | 76.04 | 84.6 | 0.25 | 0.02 | |
| 11c. Association between disease and sugar intake—% of correct answers | 77.1 | 78.1 | 92.3 | 0.86 | 0.01 | |
| 11d. Association between disease and salt intake—% of correct answers | 58.3 | 68.7 | 67.7 | 0.38 | 0.23 | |
| Total score—mean (SD) | 15–30 | 22.5 (2.27) | 22.01 (2.20) | 21.16 (2.3) | 0.41 | 0.001 |
Note: The score for each domain is given by the sum of the scores of all of the questions within the domain. Correct answers have a score of 1, while the wrong answers have score of 2. For multiple-choice question number 1, which has 5 options, the score is 0.2 for each correct option selected, and 0.4 for each wrong option selected. For multiple choice questions number 4 and 6, which have 10 options, the score is 0.1 for each correct option selected and 0.2 for each wrong option selected. Therefore, a higher score corresponds to a lower knowledge. The questionnaire is available online in English [16] and Italian [17] language versions.