Is Celiac Disease a Hidden Epidemic?

For most of us, the seriousness of Celiac Disease is very common knowledge, as most if not all of us either have it or have a family member with the disease. For most of the population, though, what Celiac Disease is and how serious it is truly isn’t common knowledge.

I’ve featured a number of great blog posts here at Celiac Disease, but those are usually from a doctor or someone suffering from the disease. Here is an excellently researched and written post over at Elya & Ellie Katz’s blog about Celiac Disease being a hidden epidemic, and it is written from the perspective of someone who has a family member that was recently diagnosed and is researching the disease.

Here is an excerpt:

This is a serious disease, and if it is in your immediate family, it is not something to ignore. It can lead to other illnesses that are even more deleterious. In children, it can trigger Juvenile Diabetes, something that ravages the health of the sufferer much more thoroughly and relentlessly than Adult Onset Diabetes. By the way, “Juvenile Diabetes” is more accurately called “Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitis,” or IDDM. IDDM can happen anytime in the adult years, though it is more common in children and young adults. Other illnesses that can be triggered by untreated CD, for your consideration:

1. Alopecia Areata
2. Anemia (can permanently affect children’s intelligence)
3. Apthous Stomatitis (Canker Sores)
4. Autism
5. Birth defects (folic acid deficiency)
6. Cancer (risk greatly increased in several types)
7. Dementia
8. Dermatitis Herpetiformis (very itchy skin condition)
9. Dental Enamel Defects
10. Depression
11. Epilepsy
12. Fibromyalgia Syndrome
13. Hemorrhage, dangerous nosebleeds (due to vitamin K deficiency)
14. Hyperthyroidism
15. Hypothyroidism
16. Infertility
17. Irritability
18. Lupus
19. Migraines
20. Multiple Sclerosis
21. Neuropathy
22. Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma
23. Osteoporosis
24. Schizophrenia
25. Short Stature
26. Unintended weight gain
27. Unintended weight loss

And of course, those with CD often suffer from many gastrointestinal discomforts, such as chronic diarrhea, constipation (or alternating), bloating, nausea, and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) to name a few.

Don’t have any symptoms? Don’t get too comfy. It’s a little complicated. There is something called “Asymptomatic CD”. You may not suffer from any significant symptoms and still have CD. So, you may ask, “If I have CD and don’t know it because it doesn’t bother me, so what’s the big deal?” I’ll tell you what the big deal is: If you have asymptomatic CD, you are still at greater risk than the general population for that long list of illnesses and complications I listed above, and more. Do remember, I have only provided a partial list.

Click over to check out their entire post!