[Evaluation of the effect of gluten-free diet on nutritional status of children with florid celiac disease].

A dynamics of Nutritional Status of 55 children with recently diagnosed coeliac disease was assessed during the treatment with gluten free diet. No deterioration of the nutritional status was seen in 34.1% of the investigated children (time 0) whereas different degree of nutritional deficiency was noted in the remaining 75.9% of children including 10% of children with severe deficiency. After a 2-year therapy with gluten-free diet a deteriorated nutritional status was only found in 8.6% of children. In 27 children with gluten free diet for nearly 3 years, with maintenance of histological remission, the percentage of children with nutritional deficiency was 7.2%. The fact of normal Nutritional Status in more than 30% of the investigated coeliac children at the time of the initial diagnosis seems to be an effect of early and proper initial diagnosis.