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Children can be accurately diagnosed with celiac disease without biopsy analysis. Diagnosis based on level of TGA-IgA 10-fold or more the ULN, a positive result from the EMA tests in a second blood sample, and the presence of at least 1 symptom could avoid risks and costs of endoscopy for more than half the children with celiac disease worldwide. HLA analysis is not required for accurate diagnosis. Clinical Trial Registration no: DRKS00003555.

We previously found that the introduction of small quantities of gluten at 4-6 mo of age did not reduce the risk of celiac disease (CD) in a group of high-risk children. However, the consumption of high amounts of gluten early in life has been suggested to increase CD risk. The aim of this study was to evaluate this hypothesis by using data from the previous study of the PreventCD trial (www.preventcd.com). Gluten intake was prospectively quantified by using specific food records between 11 and 36 mo of age in 715 children positive for the human leukocyte antigen ()- and/or from 5 European countries. According to the PreventCD protocol, infants received 100 mg immunologically active gluten/d or placebo from 4 to 6 mo of age, with a stepwise and fixed gluten increase until age 10 mo and unrestricted intake thereafter. The primary outcome of the present study was the impact of the amount of gluten consumed from age 10 mo onward on CD development. Mean daily gluten intakes from 10 mo onward were significantly different between countries for children at all ages ( < 0.001) but not between children who developed CD and those who did not within the same country ( > 0.05). The variables country, sex, intervention group, and gluten consumption pattern did not show significant associations with CD development risk (HRs not significant). In addition, the interaction between risk group and gluten consumption pattern showed no significant risk on CD development, except for the DQ2.2/DQ7 haplotype (HR: 5.81; 95% CI: 1.18, 28.74; = 0.031). Gluten consumption patterns as well as the amount of gluten consumed at 11-36 mo of age do not influence CD development for most related genotypes in children with a genetic risk. This study reports the gluten consumption pattern in children at risk of CD from different European countries. This trial was registered at www.controlled-trials.com as ISRCTN74582487.

Objectives: Celiac disease (CD) remains undiagnosed for a long time in many adult and pediatric patients. We assessed the knowledge about CD among healthcare professionals (HCPs) and CD patients in Central Europe (CE). Methods: HCPs and CD patients from 5 CE countries were asked to complete the web-based questionnaire about CD. The questions were divided into subsections on epidemiology, clinical presentation, diagnostics, treatment, and follow-up. Achieved scores of different specialists managing patients with CD were compared and regional differences in patients’ knowledge were analyzed. Results: Questionnaire was completed by 1381 HCPs and 2262 CD patients or their caregivers from Croatia, Hungary, Germany, Italy, and Slovenia. Mean score achieved by HCPs was 50.9%, and by CD patients 56.4%. Pediatric gastroenterologists scored the highest (69.4%; P < 0.001). There were significant differences in knowledge of patients from different CE regions with German participants scoring the highest (58.3%). Members of CD societies scored higher compared with nonmembers (mean score 58% vs 53.2%; P < 0.001) and patients diagnosed less than 5 years ago scored higher compared with those diagnosed more than 10 years ago (mean score 57.3% vs 54.6%; P < 0.001). Conclusions: The knowledge about CD among HCPs and CD patients is not satisfactory. Further awareness-raising and learning activities are needed to improve HCPs‘ knowledge and to minimize the number of unrecognized patients and unnecessary diagnostic delays. Patients should be better informed about their disease to reach higher compliance with the gluten-free diet.

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