Your doctor is likely in the dark about Celiac Disease/gluten sensitivity

[trents]

As this survey study points out, some of this information (data from the U.S.) is dated back to questionnaires from 2005 so keep that in mind.

https://www.beyondceliac.org/research-news/healthcare-providers-lot-learn/?utm_campaign=Research Opt-In&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=144489863&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8zsr7-s8KdWEzckx5vFRz-H8CSyU11cZRNdn6E7fAcEczL7rJhM9IMLqnrM_eHDRJRg5Zjdcz_Z4qDbUOStgwdRAP59Q&utm_content=144489863&utm_source=hs_email

Some excerpts:

"results of a questionnaire filled out by 1,400 physicians from five central European counties found that knowledge about celiac disease was unsatisfactory. On average, only half of the questions were answered correctly by physicians, including general practitioners, pediatricians, and pediatric and adult gastroenterologists."

"The second study, done by Polish researchers, found that healthcare providers largely don’t realize that people with celiac disease on a gluten-free diet are still at risk for nutritional deficiencies."

"Most physicians scored lowest on questions about diagnosis. This is “especially worrisome” among internal medicine gastroenterologists in particular, the study authors wrote, because they should be well aware of diagnostic options."

"Healthcare providers who have a family member or friend with celiac disease scored significantly higher compared to the others" (not surprising but interesting).

"Knowledge about celiac disease decreased the older physicians were" (Not surprising).

"In the earlier study done in the United States, only 30 percent of about 130 Southern California primary care physicians surveyed by UCLA Medical Center researchers knew that it was common for celiac disease symptoms to begin in adulthood. While 90 percent knew diarrhea was a symptom of celiac disease, other symptoms were less well known. Abdominal pain was recognized by about 70 percent, fatigue about 55 percent, anemia and osteoporosis 45 percent, and depression and irritability 24 percent."

"More than 80 percent of healthcare providers who filled out the survey perceived the gluten-free diet as healthy, and knowledge was lowest regarding the risk in celiac disease of being overweight or obese. The perception of the gluten-free diet as healthy most likely explains why healthcare providers don’t think those with celiac disease are at risk of gaining weight, the authors suggest."

 

You are your own advocate and you need to take responsibility in educating yourself about celiac disease. Don't depend on your doctor. You will often need to walk him/her through the process of diagnosing your gluten-related disease and for follow-up.

[Scott Adams]

Thanks for pointing this study out, and it does reveal what I and many others on this forum have known for a long time. Many doctors don't even know that their patients need to be eating gluten regularly before you can test for celiac disease, so imagine how many people are being told that they don't have celiac disease because of their false-negative results?