Celiac disease seroprevalence in subjects with dyspeptic symptoms. A study on a Mexican population

Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune enteropathy that develops in genetically susceptible individuals. The typical gastrointestinal manifestation is diarrhea but symptoms of dyspepsia, such as epigastric pain, nausea, or satiety, can sometimes appear. Previous studies have reported that the prevalence of CD in patients with dyspepsia can be as high as 7%. The aim of the present study was to evaluate CD seroprevalence in subjects with dyspeptic symptoms and a control group in a Mexican population. A case-control study was conducted on blood donors that answered the PAGI-SYM questionnaire for dyspepsia and in whom IgA antibodies to tissue transglutaminase 2 (IgA anti-tTG2) and IgG antibodies to deamidated gliadin peptide (IgG anti-DGP) were determined. CD seroprevalence in subjects with dyspeptic symptoms and in asymptomatic subjects was compared. A total of 427 subjects (76.3% men), with a mean patient age of 34 years (range of 18–65 years) were included. Of those participants, 87 (20.3%) had symptoms of dyspepsia (group A) and 340 (79.6%) were asymptomatic (group B). Antibodies were positive in one (1.15%) of the group A subjects (1/87, 95% CI 0.2–6 %), whereas they were positive in 4 (1.18%) of the group B subjects (4/340, 95% CI 0.4–2.9%, p = 0.59). CD seroprevalence in the study population with dyspeptic symptoms (1%) was not different from that of the control population. Thus, CD screening in Mexican patients with dyspepsia is not justified. La enfermedad celíaca (EC) es una enteropatía autoinmune que se desarrolla en individuos genéticamente susceptibles. Aunque la manifestación gastrointestinal típica es la diarrea, en algunas ocasiones puede aparecer síntomas dispépticos como dolor epigástrico, náuseas o saciedad. Estudios previos han reportado que la prevalencia de EC en sujetos con dispepsia puede ser tan alta como 7%. El objetivo de este estudio fue evaluar la seroprevalencia de EC en pacientes con síntomas dispépticos y un grupo control en una población mexicana. Estudio de casos y controles en donadores de sangre a los que se les aplicó el cuestionario PAGI-SYM para dispepsia y se realizó determinación de anticuerpos IgA contra la transglutaminasa tisular 2 (IgA-tTG2) e IgG contra el péptido deaminado de gliadina (IgG-DGP). Se comparó la seroprevalencia de EC en pacientes con síntomas dispépticos y sujetos asintomáticos. Se incluyeron 427 sujetos (76.3% hombres) con edad promedio de 34 años (rango de 18–65 años). De estos, 87 sujetos (20.3%) tu