Celiac disease common in type 1 diabetic children

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The prevalence of celiac disease in Italian children with type 1 diabetes is about 20 times higher than seen in the general population, researchers report in the May issue of Pediatrics.

Dr. Graziano Barera and colleagues, from the Scientific Institute H San Raffaele, Milan, Italy, collected data on 274 consecutive patients, mean 8.28 years of age, at the onset of type 1 diabetes. Patients were followed for up to 6 years. One patient had a diagnosis of celiac disease before diabetes onset, they note.

At diabetes onset, the prevalence of celiac disease was 3.6%, or 10 out of 274 children, the researchers found.

Of the 15 children with a positive antiendomysial test at diabetes onset, 10 underwent jejunal biopsy and 9 were diagnosed with celiac disease.

During the first 4 years of follow-up, 12 additional children tested positive for antiendomysial antibodies. Of these children, 10 had biopsies and 7 were diagnosed with celiac disease.

Dr. Barera's team estimates that the overall prevalence of biopsy-confirmed celiac disease was 6.2%.

Most cases of celiac disease were asymptomatic and there were no outward signs of malnutrition, they add.

Dr. Barera and colleagues conclude that ">10% of children with new-onset type 1 diabetes had or developed serologic markers for celiac disease within 6 years of the diagnosis of type 1 diabetes."

"We therefore recommend that children with type 1 diabetes have screening serologic tests for celiac disease at the time of onset of type 1 diabetes and annually for at least several years after the diagnosis of diabetes."

[Reuters Health]