Time Following a Gluten-Free Diet, Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Quality of Life in Children with Celiac Disease Martín Masot, Rafael Labella, Ana Baena García, Laura De la Flor Alemany, Marta López Frías, Magdalena Maldonado Lozano, José Nestares Pleguezuelo, María Teresa Childhood Celiac Diet quality Energy intake Fast food Food processing Gluten Limitations Maintaining a strict gluten-free diet (GFD) may affect the quality of life of children with celiac disease (CD) and promote a less healthy diet by substituting gluten-containing foods with ultra-processed foods. We aimed to assess the influences of the GFD and ultra-processed food consumption on parents' perception of the quality of life of children with CD. Fifty-eight children (mean age 8.6 +/- 4.1 years) were included. The participants were divided into groups based on the time following a GFD: <6 months (n = 18) versus >= 12 months (n = 37). Their dietary consumption was assessed through a three-day food record. The 20-item Celiac Disease Quality Of Life survey (CD-QOL), which contains four subscales (limitations, dysphoria, health concerns, and inadequate treatment) was used to assess the quality of life. The children who followed a GFD for >= 12 months presented poorer scores in the limitations subscale than those who followed a GFD for <6 months (p = 0.010). The mean % of the energy intake from ultra-processed foods was 47.3 +/- 13.5. Children with CD consuming more than 50% of their total energy from ultra-processed foods showed poorer scores for the limitation and inadequate treatment (both, p = 0.019) subscales than their counterparts. According to parents' perceptions, those children who consumed more than 50% of their energy through ultra-processed foods had more limitations, and their treatment was perceived as less effective. 2022-12-12T12:25:07Z 2022-12-12T12:25:07Z 2022-11-17 journal article Martín-Masot, R... [et al.]. Time Following a Gluten-Free Diet, Ultra-Processed Food Consumption and Quality of Life in Children with Celiac Disease. Appl. Sci. 2022, 12, 11680. [https://doi.org/10.3390/app122211680] https://hdl.handle.net/10481/78397 10.3390/app122211680 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ open access Atribución 4.0 Internacional MDPI