What is celiac?
• Celiac is a genetic disease. That means if you have the gene, you are predisposed to getting the disease. At any time in your life, you could develop the disease, though you may not develop symptoms.
• Even if you have it, a blood test may not reveal its presence. The gold standard is a specific blood test, a small-intestine biopsy and positive response to a gluten-free diet.
• 1 in 133 Americans have celiac.
• 1 in 22 people who have parents or siblings with celiac have the disease.
• The only treatment is a gluten-free diet, though there is research under way that could produce an enzyme people could take in addition to or to supplant the diet.
Prevalence of celiac
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Celiac disease affects 3 million Americans
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Epilepsy affects 2.8 million Americans
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Ulcerative colitis affects 500,000 Americans
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Crohn's disease affects 500,000 Americans
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Multiple sclerosis affects 333,000 Americans
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Cystic fibrosis affects 30,000 Americans
Source: National Institutes of Health
Who should be tested?
• People with autoimmune diseases such as lupus.
• People who have Type 1 diabetes or Down syndrome.
• People who have been diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome but don't respond to treatment or have unexplained anemia.
• First-degree relatives of a diagnosed celiac patient.
• Children who don't grow.
• People with diarrhea and constipation.
• People with gall bladder disease.
• Those suffering infertility.
Source: Celiac Disease Foundation, www.celiac.org
