Better Health Talk Radio

• In average healthy people: 1 in 133
• In people with related symptoms: 1 in 56
• In people with first-degree relatives (parent, child, sibling) who are celiac: 1 in 22
• In people with second-degree relatives (aunt, uncle, cousin) who are celiac: 1 in 39
• Estimated prevalence for African-, Hispanic- and Asian-Americans: 1 in 236
• In the landmark prevalence study on celiac disease, investigators determined that 60% of children and 41% of adults diagnosed during the study were asymptomatic (without any symptoms).
• During the prevalence study, researchers found that 21% of patients with a positive anti-endomysial antibody test could not receive a biopsy due to the refusal of their physician to perform the procedure or the insurance company to pay for it.
• Only 35% of newly diagnosed patients had chronic diarrhea, dispelling the myth that diarrhea must be present to diagnose celiac disease.
  Source: A multi-center study on the sero-prevalence of celiac disease in the United States among both at risk and not at risk groups. Fasano et. al., Archives of Internal Medicine. February 2003.
• Celiac disease affects at least 3 million Americans.
• The average length of time it takes for a symptomatic person to be diagnosed with celiac disease in the US is four years; this type of delay dramatically increases an individual’s risk of developing autoimmune disorders, neurological problems, osteoporosis and even cancer.

Source: Characteristics of adult celiac disease in the USA: results of a national survey. Green, P.H. et.al. American Journal of Gastroenterology, 2001, 2006.

• The incidence of autoimmune diseases in the general US population is 3.5%.
  In a 1999 study, Ventura, et.al. found that those diagnosed with celiac disease between 2-4 years of age had a 10.5% chance of developing an autoimmune disorder. Additional findings are outlined in the table below:

• Early diagnosis of celiac disease thus is important, as it might prevent complications,
  and awareness is the key. A recent study in North America shows that an active case-finding strategy in the primary care setting is an effective means to improve the diagnostic rate of Celiac Disease: by screening with the blood test all subjects belonging to known “at-risk” groups such as those listed above, the diagnosis rates increased more than 40-folds.

Source: Duration of exposure to gluten and risk for autoimmune disorders in patients with celiac disease. SIGEP Study Group for Autoimmune Disorders in Celiac Disease. Ventura A, et.al. Gastroenterology 1999 Aug;117(2):297-303. Rampertab SD et al. Trends in the Presentation of Celiac Disease Am J Medicine 2006
Catassi C et al. Detection of Celiac disease in primary care: a multicenter case-finding study in North America. Am J Gastroenterol 2007
Celiac disease affects 1% of healthy, average Americans. That means at least 3 million people in our country are living with celiac disease—97% of them are undiagnosed.

Chronic Illness in the United States
Below is a list of some commonly known chronic illnesses and the number of people affected in the United States:

• Epilepsy affects 2.7 million
• Cystic Fibrosis affects 30,000 people
• 17,000 people are living with hemophilia
• Parkinson’s disease affects 1,000,000 individuals
• Ulcerative colitis affects 500,000 people
• Crohn’s disease affects 500,000 Americans
• 2.1 million Americans are living with rheumatoid arthritis
• Lupus affects 1.5 million people
• Multiple sclerosis affects 400,000 people in the United States

Putting Celiac Disease in Perspective

• Type 1 Diabetes affects 3 million people; 6% (180,000) of those diagnosed also have celiac disease.
• 610,000 women in the US experience unexplained infertility; 6% (36,600) of these women might never learn that celiac disease is the cause.
• 350,000 people in the United States are living with Down Syndrome; 12% (42,000) of them also have celiac disease.
• The number of people with celiac disease in the U.S. would fill 4,400 Boeing 747 airplanes.
• It would take 936 cruise ships to hold every American with celiac disease.
• Americans with celiac disease could fill Comiskey Park (now US Cellular Field, with 40,000 seats) to watch the Chicago White Sox 55 times.
• U.S. fans with celiac disease could fill Soldier Field, the home of the Chicago Bears, 37 times.
• The number of people with celiac disease in the U.S. is roughly equal to the number of people living in the state of Nevada.
• Alaska, Delaware, Washington DC, Hawaii, Idaho, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah and Vermont all have populations that are less than 2,200,000 the number of people living with celiac disease in the United States.
  Facts about the Gluten-Free Diet
• In 2004 the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act became law. This legislation went into effect in 2006 and makes it possible, for the first time, for people with celiac disease to read a food label and determine in a few easy steps if a product is safe to eat. The University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center helped to pass this law.
• There are more than 2,000 gluten free food items available in the United States, and consumers are more likely to find these foods in regular grocery stores.
• From 2004 – 2005, sales of gluten-free foods increased by 77.8 million dollars (a growth of 14.6%).
• The US Department of Agriculture projects that the gluten-free industries revenues will reach $1.7 Billion by 2010.

Foods To Avoid

• Including einkorn, emmer, spelt, kamut

Wheat starch,
 wheat bran,
wheat germ,
cracked wheat,
 hydrolyzed wheat protein
Barley
Rye
Triticale (a cross between wheat and rye)

Points to Remember

• People with celiac disease can’t eat foods or use items with gluten in them.
• Celiac disease harms the small intestine.
• People with untreated celiac disease can’t get needed nutrients.
• Without treatment, people with celiac disease can develop other health problems.
• Celiac disease is diagnosed by blood tests and a biopsy of the small intestine.
• A gluten-free diet must be followed for life.
• A dietitian can help people choose the right foods.

What are the symptoms of celiac disease?
Symptoms of celiac disease include

• gas
• diarrhea
• stomach pain
• feeling very tired
• change in mood
• weight loss
• a very itchy skin rash with blisters
• slowed growth

Most people with celiac disease have one or more symptoms, but not all have digestive problems. And some people with the disease don’t have any symptoms. Having one or more of these symptoms does not mean a person has celiac disease because many other disorders include these symptoms.