ArticleBMC health services research2024
The financial impact on people with coeliac disease of withdrawing gluten-free food from prescriptions in England: findings from a cross-sectional survey.
Article in BMC health services research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Efficacy of a Low-FODMAP Diet for Coeliac Patients with Persistent IBS-like Symptoms despite a Gluten-Free Diet: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- Article
- Limited Availability and Higher Cost of Gluten-Free Foods Continue in the United Kingdom: A Comparative Follow-Up Over More Than a Decade.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2026Article
- Parental perspectives concerning gluten-free food insecurity in households with children with coeliac disease: take away messages for policy makers.Journal of nutritional science · 2026Article
- Patients' views on a subsidy card model for gluten-free food access: a qualitative study.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- The Price of Canadian Gluten-Free Staple Foods Remains More than Double and Iron Content Less than Half of Standard Foods in 2024.Plant foods for human nutrition (Dordrecht, Netherlands) · 2025Article
- Supporting those experiencing food insecurity: A scoping review of the role of a dietitian.Journal of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association · 2025Article
- Unlocking the Potential of Teff for Sustainable, Gluten-Free Diets and Unravelling Its Production Challenges to Address Global Food and Nutrition Security: A Review.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundA lifelong gluten-free diet is the only treatment for coeliac disease. The cost and availability of gluten-free substitute food (GFSF) remain challenging. Some local areas in England have stopped gluten-free prescriptions for coeliac disease. The aim of this paper is to present the quantitative findings of the financial impact of prescription withdrawal on people with coeliac disease.
methodsA cross-sectional survey with adults in England who reported having been diagnosed with coeliac disease by a health professional. The postal survey was distributed by Coeliac UK to their members in 13 prescribing and 13 non-prescribing local areas that were matched for geographical location and level of deprivation. Additionally, an advertisement for the survey was placed on social media. The questionnaire contained items on the availability and use of prescriptions; the weekly amount spent on GFSF; amount of specific GFSF bought; affordability of GFSF; demographics and health-related variables. Data were analysed by descriptive statistics, analysis of variance and regression analysis.
resultsOf the 1697 participants, 809 resided in areas that provided prescriptions and 888 in non-prescribing areas. Participants self-report of their prescription did not always match the local area prescription policy. There was no statistically significant difference between prescribing and non-prescribing areas in how easy or difficult participants found it to obtain GFSF (p = 0.644) and its availability in various locations. Participants in non-prescribing areas purchased most types of GFSF items in statistically significantly higher quantities and thereby spent an additional £11.32/month on GFSF items than participants in prescribing areas (p < 0.001). While taking into account the self-reported prescription status, the amount increased to £14.09/month (p < 0.001). Although affordability to buy GFSF did not differ based on local area prescription policy or self-reported prescription status, it was dependent on equivalised annual income. However, affordability did not influence spending on GFSF. Regression analysis indicated that males and households with additional members with coeliac disease spent more on GFSF.
conclusionsThe study has highlighted that gluten-free prescription withdrawal can have financial implications for people with coeliac disease. Any future changes to the prescription policy of GFSF should consider the impact on the population, especially lower income households.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.