Undiagnosed Celiac Disease Contributing to Premature Deaths, Says Mayo Clinic Study

Celiac Disease- more commonly known as the gluten allergy making people unable to eat grains such as wheat, rye, and barley- is becoming an increasingly lethal problem in America, according to Dr. Joseph Murray, the Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist who led a study published this month in Gastroenterology.

“It now affects about one in every 100 people. Part of the problem is that Celiac Disease symptoms are variable and can be mistaken for other diseases that are more common, such as irritable bowel syndrome.

“Some studies have suggested that for every person who has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, there are 30 who have it, but are not diagnosed. Also, given the nearly quadrupled mortality risk for silent Celiac Disease that we have shown in our study, getting more patients and health professionals to consider the possibility of the disease is important,” said Murray.

In 2007, the Celiac Disease Foundation cited studies and advances in diagnoses that showed “at least three million Americans, or about 1-in-133 people have Celiac Disease, but only about 1-in-4,700 is every diagnosed.”

When most people think of an allergic reactions, they think of hives, swelling, abdominal pain, and diarrhea, but less obvious reactions, according to the Mayo Clinic, can include weight loss or gain, unexplained anemia, unexplained infertility, loss of teeth, and even premature or severe osteoporosis.

The symptoms list from the CDF includes:

• Failure to thrive in infants.
• Delayed growth or onset of puberty.
• Bone or joint pain.
• Spontaneous miscarriages.
• Infertility in men and women.
• Missed menstrual periods.
• Canker sores inside the mouth.
• Depression.
• Weakness, fatigue, or weakness.

The CDF also warns of the potential that “if people with Celiac Disease continue to eat gluten, studies show that their risk of gastrointestinal cancer is 40-to-100 times that of the normal population. It can also worsen the affects of other conditions such as Diabetes-Type 1, liver disease, and migraine headaches.”

The CDF doesn’t advise that people self-diagnose, but recommends that those who feel that they might have Celiac Disease talk to their healthcare provider about blood tests that are available for a preliminary diagnosis.

The recommended blood tests are as follows:

• Endomysial antibody (EMA-IgA)
• Tissue transglutaminase antibody (tTG-IgA/IgG)
• Anti-gliadin antibody(AGA-IgG, AGA-IgA)
• Total serum IgA

The CDF also advises that if the results of the blood tests indicate Celiac Disease, your doctor may suggest a small bowel biopsy. This is usually an outpatient procedure, which is performed endoscopically. Samples of the lining of the small intestine will be studied under a microscope to look for damage and inflammation.

When both the blood test and biopsy are positive, a presumptive diagnosis of Celiac Disease can be made. When the diagnosis is uncertain, a genetic test is available that identifies the markers which can place an individual at high risk or low risk for it. The CDF states that genetic testing does not diagnose Celiac Disease, but rules it out.

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