Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Where Your Contribution Counts!
    eNewsletter
    Support Us!
  • Scott Adams
    Scott Adams

    Cognitive Impairment in Celiac Disease is Real, Gluten-Free Diet Seems to Help

    Reviewed and edited by a celiac disease expert.

    Do people with celiac disease suffer from cognitive impairment?  A research team recently looked into the matter. Here's what they found.

    Cognitive Impairment in Celiac Disease is Real, Gluten-Free Diet Seems to Help - Image: CC BY 2.0--wuestenigel
    Caption: Image: CC BY 2.0--wuestenigel

    Celiac.com 01/25/2021 - What's the connection between celiac disease, and cognitive impairment? Does the connection change over time? Does following a gluten-free diet help reduce cognitive impairment? There really hasn't been much good study data on this so far.

    One of the main problems, according to researchers, previous reports of cognitive deficit in celiac disease often study widely variable groups of patients at multiple stages of the disease, and/or lack control data. 

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
    To better understand the connection between cognitive impairment and celiac disease duration and gluten-free diet adherence, a team of researchers recently set out to examine groups of newly diagnosed and long-standing celiac disease patients.

    The research team included Iain D Croall, Claire Tooth, Annalena Venneri, Charlotte Poyser, David S Sanders, Nigel Hoggard and Marios Hadjivassiliou. They are variously affiliated with the Department of Neuroscience, the Department of Infection, Immunity & Cardiovascular Disease, and the Institute for Silico Medicine, at the University of Sheffield in Sheffield, UK; the Department of Psychological Services, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, STH, Sheffield, UK; the South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in Wakefield, UK; the Academic Unit of Gastroenterology, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust, Sheffield, UK; and the Department of Neurology, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals National Health Service Foundation Trust in Sheffield, UK.

    The team recruited 21 healthy control subjects, along with 19 newly diagnosed celiac patients (NCD) and 35 established celiac patients (ECD). Each participant took cognitive tests that established seven baseline domain scores. Patients also responded to SF-36 quality of life (QoL) questionnaires. The team then controlled for age, and compared data in between-group ANCOVAs with Tukey’s post-hoc test. 

    The team then compared significant outcomes in the ECD group between fully gluten-free patients patients who not fully gluten-free diet, as defined by Biagi scores and blood tests. 

    In visual, verbal, and memory tasks, the NCD and ECD groups underperformed relative to controls, by comparable measures. The ECD group only underperformed in visual-constructive tasks. 

    In terms of QoL measures, the NCD patients reported lower vitality, while the ECD patients reported more bodily pain. Comparisons based on dietary adherence were non-significant. 

    The team's findings confirm cognitive deficit in celiac patients, which seems to exist at the time of diagnosis, after which it seems to level off. 

    While it seems that a gluten-free diet may be that cause of the leveling off, more research is needed to establish the degree to which this is true, and to what extent any further decline might result from ongoing gluten exposure.

    Read the team's paper entitled, Brain fog and non-coeliac gluten sensitivity: Proof of concept brain MRI pilot study, in Nutrients 2020, 12(7), 2028

    Edited by Scott Adams



    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    Guest 1984-my life got strange

    Posted

    One woman's story:
    I always had some food allergies, and I knew that wheat germ was not good for me. However, in 1984, after 5 years of working at a manufacturing job with lots of chemical exposure, my asthma got really bad...and it seemed that I was losing my mind. That year I stopped being able to balance my checkbook; I couldn't add or subtract correctly. My work suffered and that was bad overall, but I had been on the committee that determined how we moved to computers and which was then training our people on the machines.

    I had read somewhere that allergies could affect cognition, so I found an DIY elimination diet that allowed me to work as I eliminated and tested different foods. I kept detailed by-the-hour charts on what I ate and my physical state. I was suspicious of wheat before the week I tested it. First, about 5 days in, I was at work when, suddenly, I "woke up." I felt like I had been asleep for a long time and just then remembered my life. My co-workers noticed my reaction and, the next day, when I had a sandwich for lunch, I asked them to keep an eye on me. Two hours later, one gent tapped on the shoulder and said, Go home now, while you can. The next day, when I tested wheat again, while reading the Sunday papers, I ended up under the couch cushions in a full panic attack, unable to believe that I could move.

    My reactions to eating wheat products have all been mental/psychological: serious panic attacks; losing my ability to speak a foreign language I had been studying for 2 years; temper tantrums; inexplicable weepiness and depression. I have been 35 years w/o gluten in my diet and every time I have challenged it, well, my wife says it's like suddenly being with a petulant 4-yr old.

    And no, people/doctors ("What drugs are you taking, dear?) haven't believed me, except my closest friends, my wife, and the people I worked with who knew me as person A and witnessed my becoming person B. I was elated to finally see articles coming out about psycho-active reactions to gluten; finally, some support from the research community!

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    knitty kitty

    I believe you.  You're not alone.  I have horrible reactions like that, too.  You're in good company here!  Glad you found us!  Welcome to the forum!

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest One of My Main Symptoms

    Posted

    The loss of cognitive function was and still is one of my main symptoms. I honestly never had that severe of a digestive issue with gluten, but in 2005 I developed what my family doctor termed clinical MS. I loss control of my right side with numbness and tingling. My hand and fingers would curl up, and I would stumble. But the worst symptom was losing several of my mental abilities. I found I couldn't remember complete conversations I had with other people. I also couldn't sequence any of my activities. If I had a task to perform at work I was well aware of the task, but couldn't figure out what my 1st step might be to accomplish it. I also loss the ability to concentrate enough to read a book or document  of any length. While I could see the individual words and knew what they meant I couldn't follow a story line. An alternative medical doctor suggested I go gluten free. She did a test with a computer and metal bars (that to this day I still don't understand) and said I had Celiac. The symptoms began to clear. Prior to this I was administered the blood test but it always came back with a false negative. It wasn't until 9 years later that I was formally diagnosed through endoscopy and genetic testing (I carry both genes for it.) To this day if I get glutened I can still exhibit these symptoms. It was a scary time in my life. I'm glad someone is now starting to figure out that Celiac can cause these kinds of severe symptoms.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Jdeacon949
    15 hours ago, Guest 1984-my life got strange said:

    One woman's story:
    I always had some food allergies, and I knew that wheat germ was not good for me. However, in 1984, after 5 years of working at a manufacturing job with lots of chemical exposure, my asthma got really bad...and it seemed that I was losing my mind. That year I stopped being able to balance my checkbook; I couldn't add or subtract correctly. My work suffered and that was bad overall, but I had been on the committee that determined how we moved to computers and which was then training our people on the machines.

    I had read somewhere that allergies could affect cognition, so I found an DIY elimination diet that allowed me to work as I eliminated and tested different foods. I kept detailed by-the-hour charts on what I ate and my physical state. I was suspicious of wheat before the week I tested it. First, about 5 days in, I was at work when, suddenly, I "woke up." I felt like I had been asleep for a long time and just then remembered my life. My co-workers noticed my reaction and, the next day, when I had a sandwich for lunch, I asked them to keep an eye on me. Two hours later, one gent tapped on the shoulder and said, Go home now, while you can. The next day, when I tested wheat again, while reading the Sunday papers, I ended up under the couch cushions in a full panic attack, unable to believe that I could move.

    My reactions to eating wheat products have all been mental/psychological: serious panic attacks; losing my ability to speak a foreign language I had been studying for 2 years; temper tantrums; inexplicable weepiness and depression. I have been 35 years w/o gluten in my diet and every time I have challenged it, well, my wife says it's like suddenly being with a petulant 4-yr old.

    And no, people/doctors ("What drugs are you taking, dear?) haven't believed me, except my closest friends, my wife, and the people I worked with who knew me as person A and witnessed my becoming person B. I was elated to finally see articles coming out about psycho-active reactions to gluten; finally, some support from the research community!

    I have long said if my issues were only digestive, I might cheat occasionally; but the cognitive aspects are too great to ever cheat. Memory becomes almost extinct. I can’t remember what I’ve read - it’s like my processor stops working! I also have dermatitis herpetiformis which doubly makes me stay on track. Otherwise I can’t remember and I’m scratching all the time!! 

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Juca

    Before my diagnosis I had gotten to the point I had a hard time remembering in the evening what I did that very morning. I was also living in a foreign country since years, and trying to learn the language. Though I understood a lot of it and had a good vocabulary, I could not put a sentence together. I simply could not remember words when I needed them or string them together. 

    It took a month on the GFD to feel awake again. I started learning so much faster... and I was finally able to relate to the world around me, because I could speak with everyone. Years wasted...

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    AnonyousCda

    Cognitive is needed so much in todays time.  You actually notice the cognitive decline little by little.  Don't enter into multitask jobs or professions. 

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites


    Create an account or sign in to comment

    You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

    Create an account

    Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

    Register a new account

    Sign in

    Already have an account? Sign in here.

    Sign In Now

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Help Celiac.com:
    Donate
  • About Me

    Scott Adams

    Scott Adams was diagnosed with celiac disease in 1994, and, due to the nearly total lack of information available at that time, was forced to become an expert on the disease in order to recover. In 1995 he launched the site that later became Celiac.com to help as many people as possible with celiac disease get diagnosed so they can begin to live happy, healthy gluten-free lives.  He is co-author of the book Cereal Killers, and founder and publisher of the (formerly paper) newsletter Journal of Gluten Sensitivity. In 1998 he founded The Gluten-Free Mall which he sold in 2014. Celiac.com does not sell any products, and is 100% advertiser supported.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Related Articles

    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 01/01/2018 - A team of researchers recently set out to conduct a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of general cognitive ability ("g"), further enhanced by combining results with a large-scale GWAS of educational attainment.
    The research team included Max Lam, Joey W. Trampush, Jin Yu, Emma Knowles, Gail Davies, David C. Liewald, John M. Starr, Srdjan Djurovic, Ingrid Melle, Kjetil Sundet, Andrea Christoforou, Ivar Reinvang, Pamela DeRosse, Astri J. Lundervold, Vidar M. Steen, Thomas Espeseth, Katri Räikkönen, Elisabeth Widen, Aarno Palotie, Johan G. Eriksson, Ina Giegling, Bettina Konte, Panos Roussos, Stella Giakoumaki, Katherine E. Burdick, Antony Payton, William Ollier, Ornit Chiba-Falek, Deborah K. Attix, Anna C. Need, Elizabeth T. Cirulli, Aristotle N. Voineskos, ...


    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 04/23/2018 - A team of researchers recently set out to learn whether celiac disease patients commonly suffer cognitive impairment at the time they are diagnosed, and to compare their cognitive performance with non-celiac subjects with similar chronic symptoms and to a group of healthy control subjects.
    The research team included G Longarini, P Richly, MP Temprano, AF Costa, H Vázquez, ML Moreno, S Niveloni, P López, E Smecuol, R Mazure, A González, E Mauriño, and JC Bai. They are variously associated with the Small Bowel Section, Department of Medicine, Dr. C. Bonorino Udaondo Gastroenterology Hospital; Neurocience Cognitive and Traslational Institute (INECO), Favaloro Fundation, CONICET, Buenos Aires; the Brain Health Center (CESAL), Quilmes, Argentina; the Research Coun...


    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 03/18/2020 - Researchers are still debating the extent to which celiac disease might cause brain damage. Some research has indicated that celiac disease can trigger changes to brain white matter, among other potential issues.
    A team of researchers recently set out to validate previous reports, we investigated the prevalence of neuropsychological dysfunction in persons with celiac disease included in the National UK Biobank, which contains experimental medical data from 500,000 adults in the United Kingdom.
    The research team included I.D. Croall, D.S. Sanders, M. Hadjivassiliou, and N. Hoggard. They are variously affiliated with the University of Sheffield, Academic Unit of Radiology; the Academic Unit of Gastroenterology; and the Department of Neurology at Royal...


    Dr. Ron Hoggan, Ed.D.
    Celiac.com 09/10/2020 - Brain fog is a state of mind that many celiacs experience, frequently in response to eating gluten, whether intentionally or otherwise.  Sometimes we experience brain fog even when we are quite certain that we have not had any exposure to gluten.  I am intimately familiar with this mental state, both when I have accidentally ingested gluten, and at times when I am sure I have not.  At such times, my thinking becomes cloudy.  I feel slightly detached from the world and my own emotions.  I make mistakes that I would not normally make.  I feel less alert, do not remember as well, become absent minded, require more sleep, sleep more soundly, and feel less rested when I awaken.  I’m also a tad clumsier.  I’m more easily confused.  I find it more difficult to focus my ...


  • Recent Activity

    1. - trents replied to SuzanneL's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Weak Positive Test

    2. - SuzanneL posted a topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Weak Positive Test

    3. - Scott Adams replied to Braver101's topic in Coping with Celiac Disease
      2

      Constant sweating with celiac disease

    4. - Scott Adams replied to Julie Riordan's topic in Traveling with Celiac Disease
      2

      Any ideas for travelling

    5. - trents replied to Julie Riordan's topic in Traveling with Celiac Disease
      2

      Any ideas for travelling


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      120,494
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Zofosho
    Newest Member
    Zofosho
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      120.2k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Popular Now

    • JustGemi
    • Linedancegal
    • Hannah24
      9
    • jessiemariecar
    • Rhonda H
  • Popular Articles

    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
  • Upcoming Events

×
×
  • Create New...