In 1994 I was diagnosed with celiac disease, which led me to create Celiac.com in 1995. I created this site for a single purpose: To help as many people as possible with celiac disease get diagnosed and living happy, healthy gluten-free lives. Celiac.com was the first site on the Internet dedicated solely to celiac disease, and since then it has become an invaluable resource to people worldwide who seek information about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet. In 1998 I created The Gluten-Free Mall, Your Special Diet Superstore! which was also another Internet first—it was the first gluten-free food site to offer a shopping cart-style interface, and the ability for people to order gluten-free products manufactured by many different companies at a single Web site.
Arch Intern Med. 2005;165:370-372, 393-399
Celiac.com 03/09/2005 - According to a new study by researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri, everyone with osteoporosis should also be screened for celiac disease. The study looked at 840 people—266 with osteoporosis and 574 without—who were screened for celiac disease using serum anti-tissue transglutaminase (tTG) and anti-endomysial (EMA) antibodies—those who tested positive for either were given a follow-up biopsy. The serological screening results indicated that 12 (4.5%) of the 266 osteoporotic patients were positive for celiac disease, while only six (1.0%) of the 574 non-osteoporotic patients tested positive. Out of the osteoporotic patients who were positive, 3.4% were confirmed by a biopsy, while only 0.2% of the non-osteoporotic patients were confirmed via biopsy (2 of the serological positive group refused a follow-up biopsy). In the group with both celiac disease and osteoporosis, the researchers found a direct correlation between the severity of both diseases, and the treatment of these patients via a gluten-free diet dramatically improved the symptoms of both diseases.
According to the researchers: The prevalence of celiac disease among osteoporotic patients was much higher than among the non-osteoporotic population and high enough to justify a recommendation that all individuals with osteoporosis undergo serologic screening for celiac disease.