Serologic screening of celiac disease in adolescents

This study aimed to identify the seroprevalence of celiac disease in adolescents from public schools in the city of Salvador, Bahia. This was a cross-sectional study with probabilistic sample of 1,213 adolescents, aged 11 to 17 years old, of both genders. The body mass index was used to determine the participants' nutritional status based on the percentiles for age and gender recommended by the World Health Organization. Measurement of the anti-human transglutaminase immunoglobulin A (anti-tTG-IgA) antibody was established as the specific screening test for celiac disease, which involved an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Descriptive analysis was performed using proportions and means (standard deviation). The female gender prevailed in the sample, and most of the participants had normal weights. The anti-tTG-IgA antibody was positive in 6/1,213 (0.49%) adolescents. The seroprevalence of celiac disease was 0.49% in the investigated adolescents. Further studies are necessary to establish the prevalence of celiac disease in this age range.