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Celiac Disease

Who is Most at Risk for Celiac Disease?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

We’ve all heard the statistic that 1 in 133 people are believed to have Celiac Disease, but are some people more likely to have it than others? As we learn more about this disease, we’ve learned that the answer is yes.

Our friend Nancy Lapid of About’s Celiac Disease page recently did some research and explains what groups have higher risks for Celiac Disease, based upon information taken from the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) and the American College of Gastroenterology.

Included on the list are the following groups of people:

  • Relatives of people with celiac disease
  • People with iron deficiency anemia
  • People with premature osteoporosis and osteopenia
  • People with type 1 diabetes mellitus
  • People with autoimmune thyroid disease
  • Women with reproductive disorders
  • People with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)

Click here to check out the rest of the list.

Know of anyone who fits into several of these groups?   Pass along a suggestion that they get tested!

How Does Celiac Disease Affect Your Fingernails?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 3 Comments

Celiac Disease is a digestive disease that occurs to the small intestine and interferes with the absorption of the nutrients from food. This disease makes impossible the toleration of gluten, a protein which is found in foods or in everyday products such as medicines, vitamins and lip balms.

People with Celiac Disease usually get it from the family because is genetic and becomes active for the first time after surgery, pregnancy, childbirth, viral infection or severe emotional stress. This disease stops the nutrients’ absorption and manifests with an abnormal immune reaction to gluten. There can be no symptoms but can still develop complications of the disease over time. Long term complications include malnutrition, which can lead to anemia, osteoporosis, and even liver diseases, or cancer of the intestine. Fingernails are the first indicators who show the overall health of the body. Celiac Disease is also shown on the Fingernails appearing on their surface some white flecks.

Currently the only treatment for the Celiac Disease is a gluten-free diet. To remain healthy, people having this disease must avoid gluten for the rest of their lives. They are advised to work with a dietitian on a gluten-free diet plan. The dietitian is specialized in food and nutrition and the persons having a Celiac Disease who to read ingredient lists an identify foods that contain gluten in order to make informed decisions when they decide to buy some products or when eating out.

For most of the people with Celiac Disease such a diet will stop the symptoms of the illness, heal existing intestinal damage and prevent further damage. Improvements begin within the first days of starting the diet. The small intestine usually heals in 3 to 6 months in children but can take several years for an adult to heal. Some problems that can occur when having this disease will not improve, depending on a person’s age at diagnosis. There are symptoms such as short stature and dental enamel defects that will remain for the rest of the life.

Can Celiac Disease Cause Infertility?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff

Health studies suggest that celiac disease, a hereditary condition that often goes undiagnosed, can lead to infertility. Experts acknowledge that without treatment, celiac disease can cause repeated miscarriages and early menopause.

For women facing no explanation for their infertility, now there is a simple, accurate way to find out if the undiagnosed celiac disease might be the cause. For the first time in Canada, Health Canada has approved the Biocard™ Celiac Test Kit, an at-home test that measures gluten antibodies from a fingertip blood sample.

According to health officials, about one percent or one out of 100 Canadians are affected by celiac disease, which occurs when gluten–a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley–triggers damage to the lining of the small intestine, interfering with your absorption of nutrients. But that estimate increases to as much as six percent for women with unexplained infertility.

Infertility affects as many as one in six couples in their reproductive years in America. Of those, about 15 percent are from no apparent cause. At the same time, the symptoms of celiac disease are not always obvious. It may be years before symptoms worsen and the disease is diagnosed, and by then child-bearing years may be over. The Biocard™ Celiac Test Kit, first developed in Finland, gives these couples an easy way to find out if celiac disease is a possible cause of their infertility.

Celiac disease affects people differently and not all symptoms are obvious. Classic celiac symptoms include diarrhea, stomach pain, weight loss, and, in children, delayed growth. For others, the symptoms are subtler, such as bloating, or excess gas. Fatigue, weakness, joint pain, and migraines — symptoms typically not associated with the gut — are also reported, and the diagnosis is often anemia, stress, irritable bowel syndrome, or chronic fatigue syndrome. Without treatment, celiac disease increases the risk of malnutrition, osteoporosis (because of poor absorption of calcium and vitamin D), certain digestive tract cancers, and other disorders such as Type 1 diabetes and thyroid disease.

Average time for correct diagnosis of celiac disease – 12 years: According to a 2007 survey of the Canadian Celiac Association’s more than 5000 members, the average time it took to be diagnosed was 12 years. Many reported consulting with three or more doctors before their diagnosis was confirmed. In fact, health research experts estimate that some 97 percent of those affected by the disorder remain undiagnosed.

Home Screening Test Now Available

The Biocard™ Celiac Test Kit is an at-home test that measures IgA antibodies from a fingertip blood sample. While this easy test gives a high degree of certainty that you are either developing celiac disease or already have celiac disease, you still need to see your doctor for confirmation. Confirming a diagnosis requires a small bowel biopsy in which an endoscope is passed through the mouth into the stomach’s upper intestine so that the lining can be examined and a biopsy taken.

The only treatment for celiac disease is a gluten-free diet for life. Still, the day you’re confirmed celiac and start your diet, is the day you’re on the road to recovery.

Information on celiac disease, the Biocard™ Celiac Test Kit, and links to key informational sites can be found at www.celiachometest.com/. The kit can be purchased online, or at London Drugs, Rexall Pharma Plus, and other major Canadian retail chains.

New Study Recommends Celiac Children Get Bones Checked

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff Leave a Comment

As more and more children continue to be diagnosed with Celiac Disease at a very young age, there seems to be more studies regarding how the disease affects these children’s health.

It looks like over the last few days the results of a new study was published which compared children with untreated Celiac Disease to children without the disease. Their findings showed that the children with Celiac are at a much greater risk of developing Osteopenia (a mild form of Osteoporosis) and that fruits and vegetables are good way to counteract these potential problems.

For your reference, here is some information regarding the study:

Background: The aim of this study was to determine whether children with celiac disease (CD) have deficits in spine (SP) and whole body (WB) bone mineral content (BMC) at time of diagnosis, and whether the deficits are related to altered growth and body composition. The secondary aim was to examine the effect of histological grade on BMC.

Patients and Methods: A retrospective study of children who had undergone a dual energy x-ray absorptiometry scan at the time of diagnosis with CD between October 1, 2003, and June 15, 2006, were compared with a healthy reference sample of similar age and race from the same geographic region in the United States. SP and WB BMC were expressed as sex-specific z scores relative to age and relative to height to assess differences in the CD group versus controls. Pearson correlation, t tests, and analysis of variance were performed to determine predictors of BMC.

Results: Forty-four children (mean age 10.6 ± 3.4 years; 77% female, 96% white) with CD were evaluated and compared with 338 healthy children. Children with CD were shorter than children of similar age and sex. SP and WB BMC for age z scores were significantly lower in the CD group compared with controls. When adjusted for height, significant deficits in WB BMC persisted in patients with CD. Low SP and WB BMC correlated with advanced histological grade in CD. Low body mass index correlated with low WB BMC in CD.

Conclusions: Newly diagnosed children with CD may benefit from screening for low bone mineral content. Patients with low body mass index and those with advanced histological damage (Marsh grade IIIc) particularly may be at risk for osteopenia.

Does Celiac Disease Cause Canker Sores?

Last Updated on by the Celiac-Disease.com Staff 1 Comment

Have you ever found that you have trouble with canker sores? Over the years I’ve talked to a number of people that mentioned having a problem with canker sores prior to their celiac diagnosis. Though not all the time, I’ve heard some mention that the problem cleared up significantly while following a strict gluten-free diet.

While doing a little bit of research on this topic for this post, I can across the following blog post with some information.   According to the Expert Doctor’s Health Tips Blog:

It’s well known that canker sores can run in families. One of the reasons for this is because whatever is causing this ulcer may have some genetic cause or reason. I’ve found that people who have gluten intolerance and/or have celiac disease have canker sores until they stop eating gluten. This could be one genetic connection, since celiac disease is genetic and passed on in the genes although the genes still need to be triggered by something unknown. One can carry the gene but not have full-blown celiac disease yet or ever.

It appears that some experts believe it is associated with the body’s immune system. Here again, it could also relate back to Celiac Disease because gluten flattens the villi in the small intestine and nutrients can’t be absorbed so the immune system suffers and its defenses are broken down.  This leads me to believe that nutritional deficiencies could also play a part.