Rise and fall of coeliac disease 1960-85.

Dietary modulation of gluten sensitivity in a naturally occurring enteropathy of Irish setter dogs.

“…The appearance of coeliac disease in infancy has been associated with relatively early introduction of cereals into the diet.36 Conversely, an apparent drop in the incidence of the disease has been associated with delayed introduction of gluten into the diet of infants because of factors such as prolonged breastfeeding37 and the removal of gluten from some commonly used baby foods.8 However, it is not certain whether the development of coeliac disease in susceptible children has actually been prevented by these changes in feeding practice,6 as a recent report suggests that introduction of gluten at a later age merely postpones the onset of the disease. 38 The initial appearance of wheat sensitive enteropathy in dogs reared on a wheat containing diet is slow,'8 19 and unfortunately it is not clear from the present study whether the lack of response in the cereal free diet group after gluten challenge for six weeks represents true resistance to the disease, or whether the disease would have eventually developed if the challenge had been prolonged. Nevertheless the present study clearly shows that previous exposure to wheat accelerates the recurrence of the disease on subsequent gluten challenge, although questions about the absolute time course of the response to gluten challenge and whether the dose of gluten affects the rate of development remain unanswered.…”

Why are babies weaned early? Data from a prospective population based cohort study

“…1 The decision when to wean must balance the risk that weaning too early will stress the immature gut, kidneys, and immune system [2][3][4][5] as well as decreasing exposure to the protective effects of breast milk, while weaning too late may result in under-nutrition 6 7 and feeding problems. 8 9 Until recently the UK officially recommended age was not before 4 months, 10 but this has recently been revised to 6 months, in line with WHO recommendations.…”

Increasing incidence of coeliac disease in Sweden.

“…Some differences are the result of varying diagnostic criteria, and others of the lack of standardised epidemiological approaches with subsequent difficulties in comparison. Some studies were based on figures without relation to a population.422 …”