Tibayan, Jocelle Marie O.

April 4, 2024

BSN2H NCM 109: Pediatric Nursing

JOURNAL READING: “PREVALENCE OF CELIAC DISEASE AND ITS RELATED FACTORS IN

CHILDREN AGED 2–6 YEARS OLD: A CASE–CONTROL STUDY”

Celiac Disease Malabsorption Syndrome or Gluten-Induced Enteropathy is an immune-genetic

disease associated with the small intestine. This disorder is highly sensitive to food containing gluten
(Ex. Rye, barley, oats), leading to immunologic reactions that cause health problems, threats, or risks.
Furthermore, this disease is most commonly known for its ability to make the affected individual
unable to absorb fat. Therefore, the body heavily lacks fat-soluble vitamins, leading to complications
like rickets from vitamin D deficiency, and hypoprothrombinemia from vitamin K deficiency.

In the journal written by Maleki et al. (2023), the main aim stated that the researchers focused
on determining the related factors of Celiac Disease that contribute to its prevalence in children aged
2 to 6 years old who lived in Southeastern Iran. It was also stated in the methods section of the
research, that the researchers used a Frequency Food Questionnaire (FFQ) to collect viable data.
The gist of the results was that the factors that played a significant role in the development and
prevalence of Celiac Disease were child age, birth weight, geographic location, childbirth type, child
digestive disease, and child food frequency questionnaire. Furthermore, the affected children of
Celiac Disease consumed less bread and cereals, eggs, legumes, meat, fruits, vegetables, and dairy
products. Additionally, the prevalence of Celiac Disease was estimated to be 9.2% per 10,000
children.

Upon reading the article, I realized the importance of how one's genetics, location, and
pre-existing disease affect the offspring. Thus, it is vital to encourage "clinical visits" when the child
exhibits unusual behaviors that signify abnormalities forming within their body. The rationale for this is
to enable immediate action before the condition worsens. Furthermore, with this disease, the effect of
health teachings is heavily emphasized. I know the importance of health teachings, but with this
disease, I realized how much of an impact it would make on the patient's knowledge about Celiac
Disease since the disease itself is heavily reliant on instructions about the dos and don'ts, and the
diet of the child. Even though the health teachings of nurses are mostly superficial knowledge
compared to the health teachings of doctors, it is still vital for us to give health teachings to the
patients so they have a background about the disease and the management done to alleviate the
condition. Therefore, I hope to apply this lesson in my clinical rotations and the day I start working as
a professional.
Reference:
Maleki, M., Farzaneh MontazeriFar, Abolfazl Payandeh, & Zahra Azadbakht. (2023). Prevalence of
celiac disease and its related factors in children aged 2–6 years old: A case–control study.
Nutrition and Health, 026010602311674-026010602311674.
https://doi.org/10.1177/02601060231167456