Prevalência de doença celíaca em crianças pertencentes a grupos de risco com baixa estatura ou com diabetes mellitus

Abstract

The prevalence of celiac disease (CD) is increasing globally in recent decades. Individuals belonging to the so-called groups at risk, such as diabetic type 1 and children with short stature, have a higher probability to express this autoimmune disease of the intestinal tract, often under an asymptomatic form, although can evolve with chronic complications such as osteoporosis and intestinal malignant neoplasms, if not diagnosed and treated early. This study evaluates the prevalence of celiac disease in children belonging to groups at risk, with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1) or with short stature (SS), based on a research carried out at a specialized endocrinology unit and at a private pediatric clinic, in Juiz de Fora, MG. This is an observational and cross-sectional study, conducted since January 2012 through April 2016. A total of 225 patients, between 2 and 16 years of age, were invited to participate: 104 were healthy (control group - CG), while 58 were DMl and 63 had SS. Of this total, 126 (56%) attended for the dosage of the tissue anti-transglutaminase antibody IgA (tTG-IgA) and serum IgA. In this group, 60 (47.6%) were CG, 39 had SS (30.9%) and 27 (21.4%) DM1. The HIV-positive cases were submitted to an intestinal biopsy by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. Among 126 patients, 6 (4.8%) showed positive IgA-tTG antibody, of which 1 (1.7%) belonged to the CG and 5 (7.6%) to the DMl or SS group (considered together). All the patients with tTG-IgA positive had histopathology compatible with CD. Patients with DMl and SS presented an odds ratio (OR) of 7.37 and 3.18, respectively, for CD. The prevalence of CD in the pediatric population with SS or DMl was 4.5 times higher than in the general population. This finding suggests that the screening for CD should be implemented routinely in pediatric patients with DMl or SS.