Prevalence of Celiac Disease in Children with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in the South of Turkey

Background: Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus (DM), autoimmune disorders, relatives of celiac patients have higher risk of developing celiac disease (CD) because they share the same HLA type. Celiac disease and type 1 DM are autoimmune and common in children. According to international guidelines, serological screening for CD in children and adults with type 1 DM is recommended but there is no consensus on how often it will be performed. Objectives: We aimed to investigate the prevalence of CD in children with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM). Methods: This current study was carried out between 01 March 2017 and 15 December 2018. 273 children with type 1 DM were included in the study. Tissue transglutaminase antibody IgA (tTG IgA) and total IgA levels were measured in all patients. The patients with tTG IgA positivity underwent gastroduodenoscopy. Results: Of the 273 patients (139 girls), the mean age was 11.61 ± 3.73 years. tTG IgA was positive in 23 patients, and 2 of them refused the process of endoscopy. Gastroduodenoscopy was performed on other patients. 11 patients with Marsh 3, 2 patients with Marsh 2, 4 patients with Marsh 1, and 4 patients with Marsh 0 were detected in the present study. In other words, 12 patients were diagnosed with CD. Nine of 12 patients diagnosed with CD were diagnosed within the first 5 years after the diagnosis of type 1 DM. Conclusions: We found that the prevalence of biopsy-proven CD in children with type 1 DM was 4.4%, which was approximately 9 times higher than the prevalence of CD in the general population. In the current study, 9 of 12 patients diagnosed with CD were diagnosed within the first 5 years after DM. According to our results, we recommend that screening tests for CD should be performed at least once a year for 5 years in children with Type 1 DM, even if the patients are asymptomatic.