Can Social Media Help Us Manage Celiac Disease Better?

Celiac.com 07/07/2020 - Like most people on the planet, people with celiac disease use social media for many reasons, including looking for celiac disease information and support. Can social media be used to improve the management of celiac disease?

Saudi researcher Ahmed Al Sarkhy recently set out to investigate social media usage patterns among celiac patients and explore the potential factors that may influence the frequency of its usage.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
Dr. Al Sarkhy is the Prince Abdullah Bin Khalid Celiac Disease Research Chair at the College of Medicine, and a member of the Gastroenterology Unit in the Pediatric Department, both at King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Al Sarkhy conducted an email survey of biopsy-confirmed celiac disease, or their parents, registered in the Saudi celiac patients' support group, and its related social media accounts. 

A total of 221 people completed the survey. More than nine in ten respondents (96%) said they used social media networks to help manage celiac disease. Only those participants who used social media were included in the final analysis. 

Nearly 60% of respondents were female. Just under two-thirds of respondents were celiac patients, while just over one-third were parents of celiac patients. 

According to multivariate logistic regression, celiac patients were twice s likely to use social media than the parents of celiac patients. The most commonly used social media channels  include WhatsApp 82.5%, Instagram 62.3%, and Twitter at 58.5% of participants. 

The results of this survey show that celiac patients commonly use social media to help them manage celiac disease. Dr. Al Sarkhy suggests that it will be beneficial for celiac patients if healthcare providers make themselves available online to provide accurate, reliable information about celiac disease.

Do you or a loved one use social media to help manage your celiac disease? How important is social media in helping you get good celiac disease information? Share your experience below.

Read more at: Saudi J Gastroenterol. 2020 Mar-Apr; 26(2): 99–104.Published online 2020 Feb 3.