Frequency of Celiac Disease among Children with Type I Diabetes Mellitus

Aftab  Anwar; Amna  Nazar; Sommayya  Aftab; Anjum  Saeed; Huma Arshad  Cheema

doi:10.29054/apmc/2023.1335

Aftab Anwar Assistant Professor of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Department of Pediatrics, Post Graduate Medical Institute / Ameer-Ud-Din Medical College / Lahore General Hospital, Lahore Pakistan
Amna Nazar Senior Registrar, Department of Pediatrics, Lahore General Hospital, Lahore Pakistan
Sommayya Aftab Assistant Professor of Pediatric Endocrinology & Diabetes, Department of Pediatric Endocrinology, The University of Child Health Sciences, The Children’s Hospital, Lahore Pakistan
Anjum Saeed Associate Professor of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, The University of Child Health Sciences, The Children’s Hospital Lahore Pakistan
Huma Arshad Cheema Professor of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, The University of Child Health Sciences, The Children’s Hospital, Lahore Pakistan

DOI: https://doi.org/10.29054/apmc/2023.1335

Keywords: Celiac disease, Type 1 diabetes mellitus, Children

Abstract

Background: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a metabolic condition of chronic hyperglycemia due to a lack of insulin resulting from the autoimmune destruction of pancreatic beta cells. T1DM is associated with many autoimmune conditions, especially hypothyroidism and celiac disease (CD). Objective: To determine the frequency of celiac disease among children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus. Study Design: Prospective cross-sectional study. Settings: Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, University of Child Health Sciences, The Children’s Hospital, Lahore Pakistan. Duration: October 2019 to January 2022. Methods: A total of 150 children and adolescents with T1DM were included in this study. Patients already diagnosed with CD, patients with concomitant autoimmune disease, patients with Down syndrome, and patients who refused to participate and who lost follow-up were excluded from the study. All patients underwent a celiac screen, and those with positive or borderline serology had an endoscopic biopsy of the distal duodenum. Biopsy reporting was done as per Modified Marsh Classification. The patient's data and laboratory findings were recorded through a predesigned proforma and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Results: The mean age of participants was 8.08 ± 2.95 years, including 79 (52.7%) male and 71 (47.3%) female patients. A total of 19 (12.7%) had positive serology for celiac disease, and 8 (5.3%) had biopsy findings confirming celiac disease. Conclusion: Children and adolescents with T1DM have an increased tendency for CD, warranting earlier screening for timely detection and management.