Brief 7: Coeliac Information

What is Celiac Disease?

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which people cannot eat gluten because it damages their small intestine. It is estimated to affect 1 in 100 people worldwide.

 

When people with celiac disease eat gluten (a protein found in wheat, rye and barley), their body’s immune system responds by creating antibodies that attack the small intestine. These antibodies damage the villi, small fingerlike projections that line the small intestine, so that nutrients cannot be absorbed into the body.

Celiac disease is hereditary, meaning that it runs in families. 1 in 22 people with a first-degree relative with celiac disease (parent, child, sibling) have celiac disease. 1 in 39 people with a second-degree relative with celiac disease (aunt, uncle, cousin) have it too .

Long Term Health Effects

Celiac disease can develop at any age after people start eating foods or medicines that contain gluten. Left untreated, celiac disease can lead to additional serious health problems. These include the development of other autoimmune disorders like Type I diabetes and multiple sclerosis (MS), dermatitis herpetiformis (an itchy skin rash), anemia, osteoporosis, infertility and miscarriage, neurological conditions like epilepsy and migraines, short stature, and intestinal cancers.

Treatment

Currently, the only treatment for celiac disease is a lifelong adherence to a strict gluten-free diet. People living gluten-free must avoid foods with wheat, rye and barley, such as bread and beer. Ingesting small amounts of gluten, like crumbs from a cutting board or toaster, can trigger small intestine damage.

Read more information on the gluten-free diet.

Celiac disease is also known as coeliac disease, celiac sprue, non-tropical sprue, and gluten sensitive enteropathy.

Undiagnosed or untreated celiac disease can lead to:

Long-Term Health Conditions

• Iron deficiency anemia
• Early onset osteoporosis or osteopenia
• Infertility and miscarriage
• Lactose intolerance
• Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
• Central and peripheral nervous system disorders
• Pancreatic insufficiency
• Intestinal lymphomas and other GI cancers (malignancies)
• Gall bladder malfunction
• Neurological manifestations, including ataxia, epileptic seizures, dementia, migraine, neuropathy, myopathy and multifocal leucoencephalopathy

Other Autoimmune Disorders

In a 1999 study, Ventura, et al. found that for people with celiac disease, the later the age of diagnosis, the greater the chance of developing another autoimmune disorder.