COVID-19 a Possible Trigger for Celiac Disease in Those with Genetic Risk

On 7/7/2021 at 7:11 AM, DevilGluten said:

I 100% believe this is a possibility.  My celiac kicked in when I was 30, after I randomly got pneumonia and a lung abscess.  I was in the hospital for weeks on IV antibiotics.  I got tested for everything you can imagine (HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis, etc).  because they didn't understand why a healthy 30 year old guy would get pneumonia and an abscess.  This was in 2003.  Maybe I had Covid-18 back then

Before I got sick I used to eat bread and pasta like a madman with no issues.  Afterwards, all my celiac symptoms started.  So I always wondered what was the cause and effect.  Was it the pneumonia that caused the celiac to kick in?  Was it the months of antibiotics I was on?  (I was on Avelox which was since been recalled for a number of issues).  Was my immune system just a time bomb waiting to go off and it all went to hell at one time?  Not sure, but I can totally believe an infectious disease like Covid could trigger dormant celiac in some people that are prone to it.

I was also sick for a long time before I ended up developing celiac disease! I had mono for months but before I was diagnosed they gave me I think 3 different doses of antibiotics and aside from being sick from just that alone, it was either the infection or the antibiotics that triggered the celiac disease for sure. I’ve read that an infection can cause dormant celiac disease to activate, but before I read that, my theory was that all the antibiotics caused my body to start defending against the good stuff too and I developed a wheat allergy, since that’s what I was diagnosed with at first. It’s interesting to think about but man do I wish I had never gotten mono in the first place lol. Unfortunate 

For those wondering about getting the covid vaccine: Open Original Shared Link

There may be 0? (I don't know) people in the hospital because they took the vaccine. People tend to overestimate the risk of the vaccine and underestimate the danger of covid. 

My daughter probably had got a Covid-19 disease few months ago (she had antibidodies) and then she got diabetes (t1d) and coeliac disease. Maybe it's just a coincidance, but I don't think so.

She is 5.

The prevalence of type 1 diabetes in the celiac population is 6% and in the general population, 1%. So there is a statistical correlation between the two.

Celiac disease onset requires two elements: 1. having certain genes, and 2. a triggering stress event such as a viral illness. I would think COVID should qualify for the latter. Also realize that the first degree relatives of a celiac have a 44% chance of developing celiac disease themselves. Perhaps you and the child's mother and your other children, if there are any, should be tested for celiac disease. There is less damage done to the body when it is caught early before major symptoms develop.

2 hours ago, trents said:

The prevalence of type 1 diabetes in the celiac population is 6% and in the general population, 1%. So there is a statistical correlation between the two.

Celiac disease onset requires two elements: 1. having certain genes, and 2. a triggering stress event such as a viral illness. I would think COVID should qualify for the latter. Also realize that the first degree relatives of a celiac have a 44% chance of developing celiac disease themselves. Perhaps you and the child's mother and your other children, if there are any, should be tested for celiac disease. There is less damage done to the body when it is caught early before major symptoms develop.

Thank you for your contribution. It's all new for me (we got the results yesterday) and I didn't realize that viral illnesses can trigger celiac disease. I agree we should be tested.

On 7/7/2021 at 9:14 AM, Guest Tammie said:

I truly believe this could be why I am having such digestive and mental health issues after contracting Covid19 Feb 2020. I have been trying to heal my gut through probiotics. I am now going to set up a Gluten test. Thank You for the information.

Tammie: My husband’s side of the family have celiac disease, with 4 family members testing positive.  We were always sure our daughter would have the gene too.  We tested her at age 10 and she did not have celiac.  Fast forward three years to September 2020.  She got Covid and was very sick for 10 days.  No hospital but sick in bed.  I noticed sleep problems and she complained of anxiety and depression about a month after Covid diagnosis.  The symptoms did not go away.  I had her blood tested for many things, celiac being one of them.  Her celiac test came up abnormal and she now has the disease.  I 100 percent believe her celiac was activated by Covid.  We will see in about 5 years that many are in the same boat.  I’m glad I caught it early.  Best of luck to you.

I got my first COVID vaccine in March.  Within a few days, I began to feel constant nausea.  It was my only symptom and the doctors didn't think it was related to vaccine.  After 5 months of nausea and doctors trying different tests and different meds to no avail, I finally tested positive for something: celiac disease.  I drank and ate how I pleased for 36 years, but those days are now gone.  If more and more people come out and realize that the vaccine can *possibly* trigger celiac disease, I'm not sure I will feel about future vaccines.  

7 hours ago, Guest Joe said:

I got my first COVID vaccine in March.  Within a few days, I began to feel constant nausea.  It was my only symptom and the doctors didn't think it was related to vaccine.  After 5 months of nausea and doctors trying different tests and different meds to no avail, I finally tested positive for something: celiac disease.  I drank and ate how I pleased for 36 years, but those days are now gone.  If more and more people come out and realize that the vaccine can *possibly* trigger celiac disease, I'm not sure I will feel about future vaccines.  

Yes, but getting COVID itself could also be a Celiac gene trigger and there is a greater chance that will happen with the unvaccinated.

Hi everyone,

I've have been claiming this for awhile now and delighted to see research on the topic. Perhaps it's coincidental, however prior to my C19 vaccine I would've had a slight gluten intolerance only pasta - following the vaccine and some associated intestinal distress, my symptoms worsened and now I can't have a crumb without having the same symptoms as a diagnosed celiac would have. I do not regret the vaccine nor advocate in anyway it was my choice, I simply find the correlation between the two interesting and wonder if this may be a factor. I hope this doesn't lead to a debate vaccines 🙄 

3 hours ago, Guest New2Celiac said:

Hi everyone,

I've have been claiming this for awhile now and delighted to see research on the topic. Perhaps it's coincidental, however prior to my C19 vaccine I would've had a slight gluten intolerance only pasta - following the vaccine and some associated intestinal distress, my symptoms worsened and now I can't have a crumb without having the same symptoms as a diagnosed celiac would have. I do not regret the vaccine nor advocate in anyway it was my choice, I simply find the correlation between the two interesting and wonder if this may be a factor. I hope this doesn't lead to a debate vaccines 🙄 

Hello and welcome! It sounds to me like maybe you were inclined to be celiac, and like so many of us, you had a trigger which happened to be the vaccine. This seems plausible because your immune system doesn’t distinguish between a vaccine and the real virus. Stomach issues are also symptoms of Covid, and the only symptom for up to 50% of people, according to articles this week. Sounds like everything that happened is your immune system’s reaction to the viral threat. 

On 7/5/2021 at 11:33 PM, Guest Pam N. said:

I had noticed an association between the symptoms of long-term COVID and celiac disease and wondered if COVID could have triggered the disease in some folks. I have seen people who developed celiac disease after being ill or injured. I hope this leads to more people with long-haul COVID being tested for celiac disease.

During April 2020 I did a dna test with health screening. Thought nothing of it until a few weeks age! Contracted covid in sept 21, suffered signs of long covid after so had some bloods done to rule out various things. Celiacs came back on blood work. Never had a symptom until after covid. Checked dna results-low and behold severely increased risk of celiacs on dna screen. Awaiting a scope and biopsy to confirm the blood work now

On 7/7/2021 at 2:14 PM, Guest Tammie said:

I truly believe this could be why I am having such digestive and mental health issues after contracting Covid19 Feb 2020. I have been trying to heal my gut through probiotics. I am now going to set up a Gluten test. Thank You for the information.

I have been experiencing gluten sensitivity since my covid vaccine would love to discuss further with anyone who has experienced this. Thanks in advance