Vast Majority of Undiagnosed Celiac Patients Improve on a Gluten-Free Diet

Celiac.com 10/06/2022 - The effects of a gluten-free diet on screen-detected celiac disease is poorly understood. A team of researchers recently set out to assess the population-based rates of undiagnosed celiac disease in adults, and to examine the effects of a gluten-free diet on screen-detected celiac disease. 

The research team included Jan-Magnus Kvamme, Sveinung Sørbye, Jon Florholmen & Trond S. Halstensen. They are variously affiliated with the Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Tromsø, Norway; the Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway; the Department of Pathology, University Hospital of North Norway, Tromsø, Norway; the Institute of Oral Biology, University of Oslo; and the Medical Department, Lovisenberg Diaconal Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
For their population-based health study, the team looked at results from nearly thirteen-thousand adults in Tromsø, Norway.  The team invited study participants with increased levels of anti-tissue transglutaminase-2 IgA or anti-deamidated gliadin peptide IgG to undergo gastroduodenoscopy and biopsy, the results of which received both histological and immunohistochemical assessment. 

The rate of previously diagnosed celiac disease was 0.37%, while the rate of previously undiagnosed celiac disease was 1.10%. Thus, 1.47% of the population had celiac disease, of whom 75% were undiagnosed. 

Overall, those who adopted a gluten-free diet resulted in significant improvements in overall gastrointestinal symptoms, diarrhea, and health-related quality of life, with nearly eighty-percent reporting reduced abdominal discomfort, and nearly sixty-percent reporting better energy levels. 

The vast majority of undiagnosed adult celiac disease patients on a gluten-free diet reported reduced gastrointestinal symptoms and improved health-related quality of life. 

Because most adult patients appear to consider the symptoms a part of their normal state and therefore remain untested and undiagnosed, the team recommends that clinicians to be more liberal celiac disease testing, even in patients with few or no abdominal symptoms.

Read more in Nature