Wellbeing, Illness Perception and Coping Strategies in Italian Celiac Patients

Abstract

The clinical features of Celiac Disease (CD) are heterogeneous and both severity and extent of villous atrophy do not correlate with clinical presentation. This study aims to evaluate the psychological wellbeing of CD patients with a similar clinical pattern and to explore whether patients with different levels of wellbeing differed in illness perception and coping strategies. CD outpatients with proven diagnosis filled in validated questionnaires to investigate wellbeing (PGWBI), illness perception (IPQ-R) and coping style (COPE). One hundred and four patients underwent data analysis. Compared to Italian reference sample, CD patients reported a significantly reduced PGWBI total score (p<0.001), self-control (p<0.001), general health (p=0.002) and vitality (p<0.001) and increased anxiety (p=0.009). 7.7% of patients reported a positive wellbeing, 40.4% distress absence, 28.8% a moderate distress and 23.1% a severe distress. Patients with distress showed a different illness perception and reported more frequently two dysfunctional strategies: “focus on and venting emotions” (p= 0.009) and “substance abuse” (p= 0.01) compared to those having a positive wellbeing. A high percentage of CD patients experience distress and differ from those who reach wellbeing in illness perception and use of coping strategies. Assessing subjective viewpoint with standardized methods can provide useful information for a better management of CD patients.