Until the 1980s, coeliac disease was considered to be a rare disease, but in the 1990s it became clear that it was a frequent condition. Recently, it was suggested to affect 1 out of 100 subjects in the Western world. To understand what the true prevalence of coeliac disease is in the general population, we conducted a systematic review of published papers. The overall prevalence of ceoliac diseae in the general population appears to be around 1/160 (6.2%°), but this figure varies widely according to the diagnostic criteria used in the original papers.Prevalence obtained with tissue transglutaminase antibodies only was markedly higher than that obtained through a histological diagnosis. We conclude that the prevalence of coeliac disease in the general population has been over-estimated. This is mainly due to tissue transglutaminase antibodies being used as the only diagnostic tool.
Are we not over-estimating the prevalence of coeliac disease in the general population?
BIAGI, FEDERICO;CORAZZA, GINO ROBERTO
2010-01-01
Abstract
Until the 1980s, coeliac disease was considered to be a rare disease, but in the 1990s it became clear that it was a frequent condition. Recently, it was suggested to affect 1 out of 100 subjects in the Western world. To understand what the true prevalence of coeliac disease is in the general population, we conducted a systematic review of published papers. The overall prevalence of ceoliac diseae in the general population appears to be around 1/160 (6.2%°), but this figure varies widely according to the diagnostic criteria used in the original papers.Prevalence obtained with tissue transglutaminase antibodies only was markedly higher than that obtained through a histological diagnosis. We conclude that the prevalence of coeliac disease in the general population has been over-estimated. This is mainly due to tissue transglutaminase antibodies being used as the only diagnostic tool.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
