{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,13]],"date-time":"2026-07-13T19:56:31Z","timestamp":1783972591103,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2017,7,19]],"date-time":"2017-07-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1500422400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Nutrients"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Non-Celiac Wheat Sensitivity (NCWS) has recently been included among the gluten-related disorders. As no biomarkers of this disease exist, its frequency has been estimated based on self-reported symptoms, but to date no data are available about self-reported NCWS in teenagers. Aim: To explore the prevalence of self-reported NCWS in a group of high school students and to study their demographic and clinical characteristics. Methods: The study was performed between April 2015 and January 2016 in two high schools of a coastal town in the south of Sicily (Italy). A total of 555 students (mean age 17 years, 191 male, 364 female) completed a modified validated questionnaire for self-reported NCWS. The subjects who self-reported NCWS were then compared with all the others. Results: Seven individuals (1.26%) had an established diagnosis of CD. The prevalence of self-reported NCWS was 12.2%, and 2.9% were following a gluten-free diet (GFD). Only 15 out of 68 (23%) NCWS self-reporters had consulted a doctor for this problem and only nine (14%) had undergone serological tests for celiac disease. The NCWS self-reporters very often had IBS symptoms (44%). Conclusions: Self-reported NCWS was found to be common in teenagers, with a frequency of 12.2%; the frequency of GFD use was 2.9%, which was much higher than the percentage of known CD in the same population (1.26%). A greater awareness of the possible implications on the part of the subjects involved, and a more thorough medical approach to the study of self-reported wheat-induced symptoms are required.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/nu9070771","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,7,20]],"date-time":"2017-07-20T04:28:26Z","timestamp":1500524906000},"page":"771","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":49,"title":["Self-Reported Non-Celiac Wheat Sensitivity in High School Students: Demographic and Clinical Characteristics"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"9","author":[{"given":"Antonio","family":"Carroccio","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Internal Medicine, Dipartimento di Biologia e Medicina Interna e Specialistica, University of Palermo, 90133 Palermo, Italy"},{"name":"Internal Medicine Department, Giovanni Paolo II Hospital, 92019 Sciacca, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ornella","family":"Giambalvo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Economics, Management and Statistics, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Francesco","family":"Blasca","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Biologia e Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Division of Internal Medicine, Policlinico University Hospital, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rosario","family":"Iacobucci","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Biologia e Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Division of Internal Medicine, Policlinico University Hospital, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Alberto","family":"D\u2019Alcamo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Biologia e Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Division of Internal Medicine, Policlinico University Hospital, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Pasquale","family":"Mansueto","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Dipartimento di Biologia e Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Division of Internal Medicine, Policlinico University Hospital, 90127 Palermo, Italy"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,7,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"801","DOI":"10.1016\/0016-5085(80)90432-1","article-title":"Gluten-sensitive diarrhea without evidence of celiac disease","volume":"79","author":"Cooper","year":"1980","journal-title":"Gastroenterology"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sapone, A., Bai, J., Ciacci, C., Dolinsek, J., Green, P.H., Hadjivassiliou, M., Kaukinen, K., Rostami, K., Sanders, D.S., and Schumann, M. 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