Gluten-related diseases more widespread than thought: report

The number of children affected by coeliac disease, which is caused by intolerance to gluten in the diet, may be seriously underestimated, according to research published in the British Medical Journal.

Researchers at Bristol University found that by age seven, one in a 100 children may have a subclinical form of coeliac disease that is largely symptom free.

Other clinical studies have suggested that the previously accepted figure of less than one in 2,500 children may itself be an underestimate.

The Bristol research involved screening almost 5,500 children participating in a study of parents and children for the presence of an enzyme and an antibody that are indicators of hidden gluten intolerance.

Professor Polly Bingley found that the 54 children who tested positive were on average an inch shorter and weighed two-pounds less than those who had tested negative. Girls were almost twice as likely to have evidence of the disease.

But only four of the children who had tested positive for hidden coeliac disease were receiving a gluten-free diet.

The substance is a natural component found in cereal flours that can cause irritation of the small intestine in sensitised individuals.

The researchers, however, have sought to reassure parents that the benefit of the early diagnosis of any possible hidden coeliac disease remains unproven.

In more severe cases gluten intolerance causes diarrhoea, anaemia and tiredness.

(SP)