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:
    Help Celiac.com:
    eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Jefferson Adams
    Jefferson Adams

    Celiac disease: Five Simple Questions Show if Kids Need a Gluten-free Diet

    Reviewed and edited by a celiac disease expert.

    Celiac.com 02/15/2010 - Just five simple questions can help you determine if your child needs a gluten-free diet, according to the a recent Danish study that aims to improve celiac disease diagnosis in children.

    Celiac disease is a disorder in which people suffer intestinal damage when they eat foods made with wheat, rye, or barley.

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
    Over the last five or six decades, rates of celiac disease have increased 400%. Worse still, at least half of kids with celiac disease never get diagnosed.

    That means they will continue to eat foods made with wheat, rye, or barley; and that they will suffer persistent symptoms such as diarrhea, abdominal pain, and behavior problems, along with  intestinal damage, that are perfectly avoidable with a gluten-free diet.

    A simple blood test can tell doctors which kids most likely have celiac disease. But doing a blood test on every child is simply not practical. Would it be better to test just the kids who show one or more symptoms common to celiac disease?

    To answer that question, doctor Peter Toftedal, MD, of Denmark's Odense University Hospital, created a simple, five item questionnaire to help parents provide information on recurrent abdominal pain, chronic diarrhea, constipation, and lack of height and weight gain:

    1. Has your child ever suffered from abdominal pain more than twice during the last three months?
    2. Has your child ever had diarrhea lasting more than two weeks?
    3. Does your child have a tendency to firm and hard stools?
    4. Does your child gain enough weight?
    5. Does your child gain enough height?


    Toftedal's study team conducted a trial of the questionnaire in Denmark's County of Funen. They mailed it to the parents of 9,880 8- and 9-year-olds. Prior to mailing the questionnaire, just 13 children in Funen were known to have celiac disease.

    A total of 7,029 parents returned the completed questionnaire, with 2,835 reporting at least one symptom. The research team invited these children for a celiac blood screen. A total of 1,720 children submitted to screening, with 24 showing positive antibodies common with celiac disease.

    Additional testing confirmed 14 case of celiac disease among the children of Funen, meaning that only half of the kids with celiac disease had been diagnosed. When you factor in the additional 1,115 parents who did not report for screening, the result might be slightly higher.

    Toftedal and colleagues conclude that a number of "preclinical and low-grade symptomatic patients with celiac disease may be identified by their responses to a mailed questionnaire."

    Pediatrics, March 2010

    Edited by Jefferson Adams



    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    Guest User

    I kinda disagree with this type of diagnosis. Those questions would have skipped over me as a child because I don't ever remember having diarrhea issues and abdominal pain didn't seem to be an issue until high school. I also made it to my mom's height. I seemed fairly healthy and very athletic except for the brain fog, etc.

    This disease is so crazy. Not having nutrients wreaks havoc in many different ways. For me it was hyperhidrosis (profuse sweating) under my arms at around fifth/sixth grade. For my daughter, the sweating began around the same time except it was her hands. Our legs also became like basketball skin at that time too. Going gluten-free has been a life-saver and a solution to embarrassment.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest endrun

    I do agree with this article although I agree with the points USER made as well. These questions are common-sense and may seem overly simplistic on some level, but I was told as a child my significant underweight was due to a "fast metabolism"(which of course was a crock).

    Therefore I agree with the folks in Denmark and the nations such as Ireland who have dealt with the matter for centuries, while culturally America is just coming up to speed here.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest brooke pulsinelli

    Posted

    I think that these 5 questions are awful and hardly a true sign of the disease. To even publish this is irresponsible and greatly misleading to anyone who is just beginning their search for answers! How disappointing to find this on a celiac web page!

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest admin
    I think that these 5 questions are awful and hardly a true sign of the disease. To even publish this is irresponsible and greatly misleading to anyone who is just beginning their search for answers! How disappointing to find this on a celiac web page!

    This is a summary of research that was published in Pediatrics, March 2010...how is it bad to summarize research on celiac disease on a celiac site?

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Yishay

     What makes me angry is my daughter had so many problems gaining, always small for her age could never keep her formula down had colic for about 2 weeks this is 26 years ago but not a single doctor thought of celiac my daughter as an adult is smaller than myself 5 ft and weight wise still in the double digits.i've just been diagnosed recently and i had the neuro symptoms it took 35 years to figure that one out.

    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

    Jefferson Adams

    Jefferson Adams is Celiac.com's senior writer and Digital Content Director. He earned his B.A. and M.F.A. at Arizona State University. His articles, essays, poems, stories and book reviews have appeared in numerous magazines, journals, and websites, including North American Project, Antioch Review, Caliban, Mississippi Review, Slate, and more. He is the author of more than 2,500 articles on celiac disease. His university coursework includes studies in science, scientific methodology, biology, anatomy, physiology, medicine, logic, and advanced research. He previously devised health and medical content for Colgate, Dove, Pfizer, Sharecare, Walgreens, and more. Jefferson has spoken about celiac disease to the media, including an appearance on the KQED radio show Forum, and is the editor of numerous books, including "Cereal Killers" by Scott Adams and Ron Hoggan, Ed.D.

    >VIEW ALL ARTICLES BY JEFFERSON ADAMS

     


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





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Related Articles

    Destiny Stone
    Celiac.com 07/27/2010 - Many businesses contact us here at Celiac.com, wanting to know how to start a gluten-free business. There are many important things to consider before you open your gluten-free business to celiac and gluten intolerant customers. The following information is intended to help those looking to comply with celiac standards of gluten-free food.
    Start-Up:
    To begin, it is important to take take inventory of celiac contamination requirements. Will your gluten-free business also sell gluten-containing foods? If so, cross contamination will be an issue. If your company will be solely a gluten-free accommodating business, it will make your challenges fewer, but there are other important factors to consider such as contamination, suppliers and certifications. Before you...


    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 10/10/2011 - With the economy on the rocks and the holiday season upon us, many food banks are struggling to keep gluten-free items on their shelves.
    Since more and more families are relying on food banks for assistance, that means more and more people with celiac disease and gluten intolerance may not be getting the food they need.
    Responding to this situation last year, Seattle resident Lisa Garza, who runs the blog Gluten Free Foodies, launched a "Gluten-Free Food Drive Challenge" to collect gluten-free donations for area food banks. The ongoing campaign has attracted support from Bob's Red Mill and Zing Bar.
    Last May, Garza urged the Seattle Food Committee, a coalition of 27 local food banks, to create dedicated space in their pantries for gluten-free foods....


    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 05/24/2012 - The old, cafeteria-style dining campus hall is fast becoming a thing of the past.
    Today’s students are bringing their more sophisticated palates and health-related concerns to campuses and schools are stepping up to accommodate them.
    Driven by these new consumer demands, and more creative management, more and more campus dining halls are beginning to resemble restaurants, featuring selections that reflect world cuisine and emerging food trends.
    Students are "becoming more sophisticated customers," says Joe Wojtowicz, general manager of Sodexo, Inc.'s Crossroads dining room at Concordia University Chicago in River Forest.
    These days, it's common for students to press staff about food options, especially questions about celiac disease, gluten-intolerance, ...


    Jefferson Adams
    Celiac.com 05/03/2013 - Would you fork over five dollars just for browsing in a store?
    More and more brick and mortar stores are fighting against a practice called 'showrooming,' where consumers visit a store to view an item in person before buying it online. Charging a fee to visitors who do not buy anything is one new strategy in that fight.
    Adelaidenow.com.au reports that Brisbane-based Celiac Supplies, a gluten-free specialty food store in Australia, recently announced that it will charge customers $5 for browsing. The money will be refunded when the customers purchase an item.
    Open Original Shared Link, the store-owner, who gave her name only as Georgina, says that she implemented the fee to curb “showrooming.” Her store has seen a "high volume of people who use this sto...


  • Recent Activity

    1. - CatherineWang replied to B1rdL0ver's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      40

      Dealing with constant nausea and just feeling awful.

    2. - cristiana replied to BunnyBrown's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      3

      Recently had my esophagus dilated

    3. - cristiana replied to twe0708's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      54

      How Long Do Celiac Patients Live?

    4. - Exchange Students replied to Exchange Students's topic in Parents, Friends and Loved Ones of Celiacs
      2

      Exchange Students who are celiac in need of host

    5. - Scott Adams replied to Exchange Students's topic in Parents, Friends and Loved Ones of Celiacs
      2

      Exchange Students who are celiac in need of host


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      120,161
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Nehad
    Newest Member
    Nehad
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      120.2k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):




  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Popular Now

    • Sunflowers06
      6
    • Momkaren
      10
    • Elizabeth M Blair
      5
    • B1rdL0ver
    • twe0708
      54
  • Popular Articles

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

×
×
  • Create New...