Screening Study Shows Higher Prevalence for Celiac Disease

Celiac.com 03/28/2011 - While rates of diagnosed celiac disease are less than 1 in 2,000 in the United States, screening studies in European and other populations have shown a much higher prevalence.

A team of researchers recently set out to assess rates of celiac disease and the benefits of screening in the general adult population in certain geographically isolated areas.

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The research team included Kent D. Katz MD, Shahrooz Rashtak MD, Brian D. Lahr BS, MS, L. Joseph Melton III MD, Patricia K. Krause BS, MBA, Kristine Maggi PA-C, Nicholas J. Talley MD, PhD, and Joseph A. Murray MD.

They are affiliated variously with the Wyoming Medical Center in Casper, Wyoming, the Department of Dermatology, the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology of the Department of Internal Medicine, the Division of Biostatistics, and the Division of Epidemiology in the Department of Health Sciences Research at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.

The team measured serum tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTG-IgA) in adult volunteers at the annual Casper, Wyoming, Blue Envelope Health Fair blood draw. The team then checked endomysial IgA antibodies in those with positive tTG-IgA results.

For those who tested positive for both screens, the team offered endoscopy with small bowel biopsy. All participants completed a short gastrointestinal (GI) symptom questionnaire.

The team did blood tests on a total of 3,850 subjects, 34 of whom tested positive for both tTG and endomysial antibody (EMA) IgA.

The team excluded three individuals who had been previously diagnosed with celiac disease, leaving 31 subjects, and making the total positive celiac serology in this community sample 0.8%.

The team offered small bowel biopsy to those 31 subjects. They performed a total of 18 biopsies, with 17 patients (94%) showing at least partial villous atrophy.

Symptoms reported by test subjects did not predict positive diagnosis. In fact, most subjects showed no symptoms, or else showed atypical symptoms.

Serologic testing readily detects celiac disease in a general population. Screening results showed that undiagnosed celiac disease affects 1 in 126 individuals in this Wyoming community.

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