Depressive Symptoms in Adult Celiac Disease

Celiac.com 11/24/2002 - The following is a Medline abstract on a study conducted by Italian researchers that demonstrated a connection between celiac disease and clinical depression.

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Ciacci C, Iavarone A, Mazzacca G, De Rosa A.
Dept. of Gastroenterology, University of Naples Federico II, Italy.

BACKGROUND: Psychic symptoms and depression have been reported in celiac disease (celiac disease). The aim of this study was to explore depression in a large cohort of adult celiac disease patients.

METHODS: Depressive symptoms were evaluated in 92 adult celiacs, 100 normal controls (NC), and 48 chronic persistent hepatitis (CPH) patients by means of a modified version of the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (M-SDS). celiac disease patients were evaluated for the level of knowledge about celiac disease and the compliance with diet.

RESULTS: The M-SDS score differentiated celiac disease patients from NC. Age at diagnosis and duration of and compliance with diet did not correlate with depression. Three main factors could be identified with the M-SDS: reactiveness, pessimism, and anhedonic-asthenic.

CONCLUSION: Depressive symptoms are a feature of celiac disease; they are present to a similar extent in patients with childhood- and adulthood-diagnosed celiac disease. The results underline the relevance of personal psychological resources, which play a fundamental role in determining and sustaining depression.