Since launching Celiac Disease, I continue to be surprised at the number of symptoms that can be relieved by simplying following a strict gluten free diet.  My latest discovery is the possibility that bedwetting is a symptom of Celiac Disease!  Who would have thought?

Unfortunately, I have not been able to discover any scientific evidence to support this yet.   I know a lot of our readers have children with Celiac Disease.   Out of curiosity, did your child have problems with bedwetting?   Leave us a comment with your story!

Over the past few years, the medical community has finally come around to the fact that many people with Celiac Disease don’t have the common symptoms that doctors used to look for.

Recently The Savvy Celiac took a community survey of symptoms which lead to diagnosis of Celiac Disease, and today they shared the survey results.   The survey was actually broken down into two sections: children symptoms and adult symptoms.

Here are the results with the most common symptoms on top:

Children Symptoms with Celiac Disease

• Diarrhea
• Failure to Thrive
• Distended Belly
• Stomach Pain
• Vomiting
• Fatigue
• Constipation

Adult Symptoms with Celiac Disease

• Diarrhea
• Fatigue
• Stomach Pain
• Anemia
• Nausea
• Asymptomatic
• Weight Loss
• Constipation

They are definitely interesting results, though they were taken from a very small sample (68 people), so it should be used for informational purposes only.  Click here to read their post announcing the survey results.

Is anemia a common symptom of Celiac Disease?   Back in the mid 1980’s, it wasn’t considered to be, but more recently, we’ve learned through extensive studies that Celiac Disease extends well beyond many of the symptoms typically associated with the disease.

So, how common is Anemia in people with Celiac Disease?   According to Haematologica.org:

Prevalence of Anemia in Celiac Disease

Because of the improvement in diagnostic methods for identifying celiac disease, there has been a marked increase in the proportion of subjects identified as celiac patients, who do not have the classical manifestations of disease such as diarrhea, gross symptoms of malabsorption including steatorrhea and abdominal complaints. Anemia without other clinical clues of intestinal malabsorption is one of the most common extraintestinal manifestations of celiac disease. Although folate and cobalamin deficiency are known complications of celiac disease, the most common nutritional anemia associated with celic disease is iron deficiency. Iron deficiency anemia was reported in up to 46% of patients with subclinical celiac disease in one study, and its prevalence was higher in adults than in children. Similarly, among patients identified by population screening, consisting mostly of young or middle-aged adults, 50% were anemic. In an additional study consisting predominantly of young females, anemia was encountered in 28% of celiac patients and was the most common extraintestinal finding. A characteristic feature of iron deficiency anemia (IDA) associated with celiac disease is its refractoriness to oral iron treatment.

Prevalence of Celiac Disease in Anemia

If anemia is a common presenting feature of celiac disase, what is the chance of encountering celiac disease in patients presenting with iron deficiency anemia? This question is of particular importance for hematologists who are often the first experts consulted for unexplained iron deficiency anemia. The population of patients studied was heterogeneous as some groups consisted only of patients with iron deficiency whereas others included both folate and iron deficient patients. Most groups consisted of a majority of premenopausal females. In 4 studies small bowel biopsy was only performed in patients with positive serology for celiac disease whereas in 3 other studies9,10,12 biopsies were performed upfront without being preceded by serological screening. Nevertheless the results were remarkably uniform with de novo diagnosis of celiac disease in 5–6% of patients presenting with iron deficiency anemia. Our prospective study of IDA published in 200513 has now been extended from 150 to 325 patients. The prevalence of celiac disease remained unchanged at 5.2%. The 17 celiac patients in this series were indistinguishable from the rest of the anemic patients by their age, severity of iron deficiency anemia, or serum albumin. Serum cholesterol 151±36 was significantly lower in celiac disease than in the other IDA patients (180±41, p=0.007). Only one patient had diarrhea, one had stunted growth and 2 had constipation. The most consistent clinical feature was complete refractoriness to oral iron treatment. and the complete absence of an increment in serum iron two hours after oral iron loading with 100 mg ferrous sulphate.

These study results make Anemia sound pretty common (close to 50%!) in patients with Celiac Disease.

Wondering if your child has Celiac Disease?   Recently US News & World Report published a quick health tip which included signs your child has Celiac Disease.

Not sure that there is much new here, but for what it is worth, here is the symptoms they recommend you look for:

• Among babies, symptoms may include pain in the abdomen or diarrhea that may be bloody.
• Babies may also stop growing and fail to gain weight.
• Among young children, symptoms may include nausea, loss of appetite, sores in the mouth, anemia and skin rash.
• Children who become malnourished from celiac disease may have thin thighs, a small bottom, and a large, swollen belly.
• Among teens, symptoms may include stunted growth, delayed puberty, and hair loss.
• Lactose intolerance.
• An itchy, blistering skin problem.

As more research is conducted on Celiac Disease, it seems that more and more other problems are linked to having Celiac.   In fact, many people are now being diagnosed with Celiac Disease despite not having any of the “standard” symptoms of Celiac Disease.  

The latest story I’ve found discusses Thyroid Disease and the possible link between Celiac Disease and Thyroid Disease.   According to Reuters:

Using data from Swedish national registers, researchers led by Dr. Peter Elfstrom at Orebro University Hospital, studied the long-term risk of thyroid disease in more than 14,000 individuals diagnosed with celiac disease between 1964 and 2003 and some 68,000 age- and gender-matched control subjects without celiac disease.

 

They found that people with celiac disease had a greater than fourfold increased risk of being diagnosed with hypothyroidism, a threefold increased risk of suffering hyperthyroidism, and a 3.6-fold increased risk of developing thyroiditis.

 

The reverse was also true, with the same level of statistical significance, for an increased risk of celiac disease in people with established hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism and thyroiditis.

Is there a connection between gluten sensitivity and severe acne problems?   I’ve met and talked to several people that think acne should be considered a symptom of Celiac Disease and other gluten intolerance problems.

According to a recent post over at Natural News, it looks like that is a possibility:

First let me say acne is a result of blood sugar problems and chronic inflammation. These trigger hormonal reactions that lead to increased sebum production, blocked pores and overgrowth of acne-causing bacteria. For a more detailed explanation, please see: what causes adult acne.

Gluten contributes to acne in two ways. First, it causes damage to the small intestine, which could lead to nutritional deficiencies and an increased toxic body load (through leaky gut syndrome).

The second link between gluten and acne is inflammation. People with gluten sensitivity cannot digest gluten effectively. As a result they absorb incompletely digested protein molecules. The immune system treats these as invaders. As it attacks these ‘invaders’ the white cells release histamine, which increases inflammation. Inflammation increases insulin resistance in the nearby cells.

Insulin resistance leads to blood sugar problems, which is linked to acne.

As this happens once in a while, the body can deal with it. But most people are exposed to gluten 3 or more times a day. This, coupled with other inflammatory agents, spreads inflammation all over the body. Suddenly cells all over the body start becoming insulin resistant.

What are your experiences?  Do you know people who have had acne problems prior to Celiac diagnosis, then later had symptoms clear up after being on a gluten free diet?