By David Liu PHD

Wednesday Aug 1, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- People who have coeliac disease are more likely to develop pnacreatitis, according to a study published on July 13, 2012 in Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

The study led by O. Sadr-Azodi of  Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, Sweden and colleagues found patients with coeliac disease were three times as likely as those who did not have the disease to be diagnosed with pancreatitis.

Coeliac disease is associated with increased risk for pancreatitis and pancreatic insufficiency, but researchers suggested that the risk might have been overestimated because of the methods used in previous studies.  The current study was based on data collected nationwide and intended to determine risk for any pancreatitis or subtype of pancreatitis among patients with biopsy-confirmed coeliac disease.

The study involved 28,908 cases of coeliac disease identified in the Swedish Patient Register and 143,746 controls from the general population.

Patients with coeliac disease were found 185 percent more likely to be diagnosed with pancreatitis, compared to people without the disease.  Of coeliac disease patients, risk for gallstone-related acute pancreatitis was increased by 59 percent and non-gallstone-related acute pancreatitis was increased by 86 percent.

The risk of any pancratitis diagnosed in patients within five years was 2.76 times as high as that for the controls who did not have coeliac disease.

The researchers concluded "Based on an analysis of medical records in Sweden, patients with coeliac disease were at an almost 3-fold increase in risk of developing pancreatitis."

Coeliac disease

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People with the disease cannot tolerate gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley.

More than 2 million people or about 1 in 133 people in the United States have the disease, which is more commonly found in people with other genetic disorders including Down syndrome and Turner syndrome.

Celiac disease is also more common among people with other genetic disorders including Down syndrome and Turner syndrome, a condition that affects girls' development.

Coeliac disease test

Blood tests are commonly conducted to determine levels of anti-tissue transglutaminase antibodies (tTGA) or anti-endomysium antibodies (EMA).  Intestinal biopsy can also be used to diagnose coeliac disease.

Coeliac disease treatment

Coeliac disease has no treatment.  The only thing that patients can do is use a gluten-free diet, which does not contain wheat, rye and barley.  Foods with these grains should also be avoided.