Phenylketonuria patients' and their parents' knowledge and attitudes to the daily diet - multi-centre study.

Our data demonstrated that parents' and children's knowledge concerning treatment recommendations and food products does not have a direct impact on attitude to the PKU diet. Limiting children's independence in meal selection, growing helplessness in the face of dietary adherence and shame resulting from the necessity to follow a different diet observed in PKU families are responsible for shaping and perpetuating a consistently negative attitude to the diet. The care of PKU paediatric patients requires consistent, long-term family and individual therapy which may counteract the effects of learned helplessness. In regard to the educational effort, a good parent-child relationship as well as the teaching of behaviours motivating patients to comply with the diet are of great importance.