Mass Screening Shows Celiac Disease Diagnoses in Children Have Doubled in 25 Years

06/14/2021 - Professor Elena Lionetti and a team of research colleagues at the Department of Paediatrics at the Marche Polytechnic University, Ancona, Italy recently reported that mass screening of school age children has led to significantly higher numbers of celiac disease cases being diagnosed, compared to a similar study by the same group 25 years ago.

A new blood screening program of 7,760 children aged from five to 11 across eight provinces of Italy showed overall celiac disease rates of 1.6%, much higher than the current 1% estimate.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
The finger-tip blood test screens for Human Leukocyte Antigens (HLA) gene mutations, which increase the chances for developing celiac disease. Children who tested positive for HLA mutations were then checked for antibodies to gluten. 

Diagnosis was then confirmed using criteria set by ESPGHAN (European Society for Paediatric, Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition).

Testing children only if they present with celiac symptoms, or have a family history of the disease, misses too many diagnoses. Lead author of the CELI SCREEN multi-centre trial, Prof. Elena Lionetti, says the study showed that childhood screening leads to higher rates of celiac diagnosis than in selective screening in standard care.

"The study shows that celiac rates have doubled in schoolchildren over the past 25 years, when compared to figures reported by our team in a similar school age group," says Prof. Lionetti. 

The study also shows that nearly three out of four celiac disease patients are going undiagnosed at an early age, when the means exist to test them. The study shows that substantially more children could be diagnosed, and at an earlier stage, if screening were carried out in childhood with non-invasive screening tests. The study reveals the need for a comprehensive screening strategy to prevent these patients from suffering the effects of long-term celiac disease.

The teams reported their findings at the 6th World Congress of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition.

Source: European Society For Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition