Study Confirms Celiac Disease in School Children of Jordan

Celiac.com 02/12/2010 - A recent study to research thepredominance of celiac disease in healthy school children in IrbidCity, Jordan was conducted using ELISA, a common serological test forthe presence of EmA antibodies which are associated with celiacdisease.

Serum samplesfrom the children were analyzed for the presence of IgA anti-tissuetransglutaminase antibodies (tTG). Samples that tested positive fortTG, were then analyzed for IgA anti-endomysium antibodies (EmA).Positive EmA results indicated the presence of celiac in thechildren.

Using 868 boys &1,117 girls ages 5.5 to 9.5, the study measured the positiveserology of the children's weight and height, Body Mass Index (BMI)as well as blood samples from the children to determine theprevalence of celiac disease.

The researchers found that 16 of the 1,985 children tested, had positive EmAantibodies, and were also positive for celiac disease. The resultsfurther indicated that both boys and girls with positive EmAantibodies also showed significant height reduction compared tochildren without the presence of the antibodies. However, only boyswith positive antibodies showed significant weight reduction.

The studyconfirmed that celiac disease is widespread among Jordanschool children. It also concluded that children with celiac diseaseare prone to lower height, weight and BMI compared to children withnegative EmA antibody results.

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