Adult Celiac Disease: Psychosocial Factors Affect Patient Symptoms and Health More Than Disease Itself

interesting

Gut bacteria, mechanisms of action of the intestinal microbiota in immune-mediated diseases, might be involved in the "relative effects" of clinical and psychosocial variables on outcome in celiac disease..

I am sorry that Mr. Adams did not critique this study from a celiac's perspective. For myself, I find the findings flawed and potentially detrimental to the diagnosis and treatment of celiac disease.

The researchers conclude that psychosocial factors have greater impact on GI symptoms and health generally than celiac disease itself. What they do not consider is that it may be the celiac disease which is causing those so-called psychosocial factors. For instance, they find that subjects with psychological distress and poor coping skills suffered higher rates of diarrhea, poorer health, impaired daily function. They do not appear to have considered that people suffering from the degradations and humiliations, not to mention malnutrition, of chronic diarrhea are likely to suffer psychological distress and to cope poorly.

Likewise, they find that subjects with high psychological distress and greater weight loss had higher pain scores. Did they not consider that people with high levels of chronic pain are likely to have advanced intestinal destruction leading to severe malnutrition caused by the inability to process food, and that the chronic pain and malnutrition might possibly cause the psychological distress?

As with so many medical studies, the researchers are drawing questionable conclusions by misinterpreting and mis-attributing causality. This is a trend the celiac community should stand up against.

It is difficult enough getting research attention, and getting the medical community to be informed. We do not need researchers leading the medical community down the wrong path by misinforming them about how celiac disease does and does not work. This misinformation is not simply bad science, but potentially harmful to vulnerable, and frequently fragile, patients.

I hope in the future that Celiac.com will take the opportunity not just to reiterate the study abstracts, but to apply some critical thinking, and if necessary calling celiacs to action to hold such researchers to account for the flaws in their work.

CeliBelli, I completely agree with you. There is so much preconception about cause and affect. I also think psychosomaticism is paid too much attention. Drug use is blamed too much in my family for early deaths, instead of recognizing the use of drugs and alcohol as symptoms. I am the first and only one diagnosed among my relatives. A lot of negative emotions are largely symptoms of malnutrition, as well as attack by one's own immune system, let alone the ignorance of and abuse by gluten consumers, and the friction caused by the very real dangers to celiacs at the hands of the majority.

Disparaging type article that we don't need--we lived the preconceived baloney for far too long as per Jefferson's other article on here which tells a more accurate story and presents a more accurate picture.

Celiac disease is caused by two markers discoverable on a blood screen and endoscopy, period. Wheat has been engineered in recent years to contain five times as much gluten, a disaster for those of us who have celiac disease. Because there is no real money to be made by prescription drug makers or surgeons, the psychotropic drug industry is attempting to link yet another medical condition to some psychological element that they can add it to the hundreds of new entries in the DSM in recent years--all of which they "diagnose" as requiring their "services" and psychotropic medications (increasing their incomes); all it really requires is a gluten-free diet. I agree with Celli-Belli completely.