Celiac Disease in the Turkish Population

Abstract

Celiac disease (CD) is characterized by malabsorption of nutrients in the small intestine. The availability of highly specific and sensitive serologic tests has facilitated its diagnosis, increasing the disease prevalence. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical, laboratory, and histopathological features of CD in Turkish adults. Between 1968 and 2002, CD patients presenting to the Gastroenterology Unit were evaluated retrospectively. From 2002, newly diagnosed patients were prospectively followed up. Sixty patients (39 female, 21 male) were included in the study. Mean body mass index was 22.2 +/- 5.4 kg/m2. The most common symptoms were diarrhea, weight loss, and flatulence. Most common comorbidities were anemia, osteoporosis, type 1 diabetes mellitus, and steatohepatitis. Six (10.0%) patients had a family history of diabetes mellitus; one (1.7%) patient had a family history of CD. Plasma glucose and serum gamma-glutamyltransferase levels were significantly higher in females than males. Most common histopathological findings were increased lymphocytes in the lamina propria (76.2%) and villus epithelium (59.5%). Over the years, the cumulative frequency of CD increased more in females than males. This is the first study in the literature showing the characteristics of CD in Turkish adults. In our previous recent study, the prevalence of tissue transglutaminase antibody positivity in Turkish healthy blood donors was 1.3%, indicating a high prevalence of CD in our population. In this study, the cumulative frequency of CD increased more in females than males. With the better understanding and increased suspicion of the disease, more patients are being diagnosed in our population.

Value of clinical data in diagnosis of symptomatic celiac disease in children

“…In (58.6%) of studied CD patients had chronic diarrhea, comparable results were present in other studies (14)(15) . In 41.4% of celiac cases in this study had normal bowel motion, Telega et al found that 28.2% of his cases had diarrhea and 5.1% had constipation suggesting that the remaining 66.7% had normal bowel motion (16) , indicating that normal bowel motion does not preclude the possibility of CD diagnosis.…”

Validation of the Turkish version of the Celiac Disease Questionnaire (CDQ)

“…According to the results of different recently-published studies, CD affects between 1:100 and 1:200 individuals in the general population of Turkey [5–7]. Currently the cornerstone of the treatment is a lifelong strict gluten-free diet (GFD) [8], under which gluten is entirely eliminated from food intake and medications.…”

Serum Leptin Levels in Childhood Celiac Disease

“…It is characterized by malabsorption of nutrients by the small intestine after the ingestion of wheat gluten or related proteins from rye, oat, and barley; characteristic villous atrophy of the small intestinal mucosa, clinical and histologic recovery after a gluten-free diet (GFD), and clinical relapse after the reintroduction of gluten. 5 Intestinal mucosa contains leptin receptors, and it was postulated that direct leptin signaling in the intestine might be involved in the regulation of nutrient absorption and intestinal motility. 6,7 Furthermore, leptin is involved in immune regulation.…”