[Coeliac disease and other autoimmunological disorders coexistance].

Coeliac disease (gluten enteropathy) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of autoimmune etiology in genetically predisposed individuals. It is the most frequent enteropathy with frequency of 1/100 and 1/300 in the adult population in America and Europe respectively. Typical form of celiac disease including abdominal pain, weight loss, nausea is quite rare in adults. In some coeliac patients, symptoms persist in spite of strict gluten free diet. One of the reasons of this is interference of the autoimmune diseases. Results of our studies revealed in the group of 110 patients with diagnosed gluten enteropathy, coexistence of autoimmune disease, such as diabetes mellitus type 1 in 7.2% cases, hyperthyreosis on 1.8% of cases, vitiligo in 0.9% of cases, primary biliary cirrhosis in 2% of cases and rheumatoidal arthritis in 0,9 of cases. In the group of 80 ulcerative colitis patients, coexistence of celiac disease basing on serological histopatological investigation was found in 4 patients (5%).

CONCLUSIONS

Coexistence of coeliac disease with other autoimmune diseases is quite frequent. Gluten enteropathy symptoms may be interpreted as originating from other autoimmune disease. It can delay the diagnosis of celiac disease and introduction of gluten free diet, which improves the quality of life and protects from dangerous GI complications.