The High Costs of Gluten-Free Products for Iranian Patients with Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that can occur in genetically predisposed people who ingested gluten. The most effective treatment for celiac disease is lifelong adherence to a strict gluten-free diet. Therefore, patients with celiac disease need to provide gluten free products. On the other hand, the price of these products are higher than normal ones. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the cost of gluten free products with similar regular non-gluten free products.

All available gluten free and similar regular products were collected during 2018 in Tehran, Iran and their prices and weights were calculated. The gluten free and similar regular products were divided into 13 categories and the items were calculated based on the weight and the prices were compared according to the same weights. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21.

A total of 128 products, 36 local and 28 imported gluten free product and 64 similar regular products food samples were collected and their prices were calculated in the same amounts of food. Overall, gluten free products were significantly more expensive than regular products. Most of the daily food requirements for patients with celiac disease were in average less than 5,000 Tomans. Only 19.11% of these gluten free products had an average price more than 30000 Tomans.

Considering the significant increase in the price of gluten-free products compared with gluten-rich products, the cost of food preparation for people with celiac disease in Iran is high, which can also affect the adherence to a gluten free diet.