Abstract
Objective: Celiac Disease (CeD) is an autoimmune disease triggered by gluten that adversely affects the digestive system. The objective of this study is to examine the relationship between diet and orthorexia nervosa in children with CeD and to gain insight into the dietary habits and psychological well-being of mothers of children with CeD.
Methods: The study compared 31 mothers whose children had CeD with 35 mothers whose children did not have any chronic diseases. Various psychological and behavioral aspects were assessed using tools that measured orthorexic behaviors, obsessive-compulsive traits, disordered eating patterns, and caregiver burden. Participants were selected based on confirmed CeD diagnoses in their children, verified through biopsy. This design allowed the study to explore differences in psychological and dietary behaviors between the two groups of mothers.
Results: Mothers with children with CeD worked less (p=0.038), exhibited more orthorexic behaviors, showed higher scores in obsessivecompulsive traits (p<0.001), particularly in control (p<0.001) and cleanliness (p<0.001) dimensions, and had more disordered eating attitudes (p=0.006), especially in dietary habits (p=0.016) and social pressure (p=0.003) compared to the control group. As orthorexic behavior increased, social pressure also increased. There were positive, weak to moderate, and significant correlations between obsessive-compulsive traits, caregiver burden, and eating attitudes. Additionally, there was a weak but significant positive correlation between coping with thinness and psychological distress.
Conclusion: This study highlights that mothers of children with CeD exhibit elevated orthorexic behaviors, obsessive-compulsive traits, and altered eating attitudes, potentially linked to a strict gluten-free diet, and emphasizes the need for integrated psychosocial care alongside dietary guidance to address the complex interplay between caregiving responsibilities, the chronic nature of CeD, and their collective impact on maternal mental health and behavior.

Key words: Celiac Disease, Caregiver Burden, Disrupted Eating Behaviour, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Orthorexia