Celiac Disease: What It Is, Symptoms, and Diagnosis

Celiac Disease: What It Is, Symptoms, and Diagnosis

Celiac disease, also known as gluten-induced enteropathy, is an autoimmune disorder that affects the small intestine of genetically predisposed adults and children.

This disease is triggered by the consumption of foods containing gluten, causing atrophy of the “villi” in the small intestine’s mucosa (which serve to enhance nutrient absorption and can be described as folds in the intestine), thereby impairing the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and water.

Its prevalence in the European population ranges from 0.5 to 1 percent, with a female-to-male ratio of 3:1. The clinical presentation of symptoms is based on gastrointestinal changes, which combine to signal the onset of the disease.

Among these symptoms, we highlight chronic diarrhea with steatorrhea (the formation of voluminous, grayish or pale stools, usually with a strong odor, that float in water and have an oily appearance, or are accompanied by fat floating in the toilet bowl), abdominal cramps, malabsorption syndrome, and iron-deficiency anemia.

Other symptoms to consider include pallor, growth delays, low body weight, asthenia (weakness), and alopecia (partial or total loss of body hair or scalp hair in a specific area of the skin).

Another set of symptoms may also indicate celiac disease, such as neuropathy, aphthous stomatitis (more commonly known as canker sores), osteoporosis, gonadal insufficiency (infertility and absence of menstruation), failure to develop secondary sexual characteristics, dermatitis herpetiformis, cramps, and tetany (involuntary muscle spasms).

Given this wide range of symptoms, if you recognize any of them, you should immediately contact your doctor to undergo clinical tests for an accurate diagnosis.

There is a specific set of laboratory tests designed for this purpose. Test results for patients under 5 years of age who are on a gluten-free diet should show the following values:

Patients under 5 years of age

• Anti-Gliadin Antibody (AGA) IgA (S > 90%; E > 85%)
• Anti-Gliadin Antibody (AGA) IgA (S > 90%; E > 88%)
• Anti-Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA (S > 91%; E > 99%)
• Anti-Tissue Transglutaminase (tTG) IgG (if IgA deficiency is suspected)

Patients over 5 years of age

• Anti-tissue transglutaminase (tTG) IgA (S > 91%; E > 99%)
• Anti-tissue transglutaminase (tTG) IgG (if IgA deficiency is suspected)

Following diagnosis of the disease, close monitoring is required, which involves follow-up testing for patients on a gluten-free diet. The results should be as follows:
Anti-Transglutaminase (tTG) IgA Antibody (S > 91%; EZ 99%) or

Anti-Gliadin (AGA) IgA Antibody (S > 90%; E > 85%)

Celiac disease, also known as gluten-induced enteropathy, is an autoimmune disorder that affects the small intestine of genetically predisposed adults and children.

This disease is triggered by the consumption of foods containing gluten, causing atrophy of the “villi” in the small intestine’s mucosa (which serve to enhance nutrient absorption and can be described as folds in the intestine), thereby impairing the absorption of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and water.

Its prevalence in the European population ranges from 0.5 to 1 percent, with a female-to-male ratio of 3:1. The clinical presentation of symptoms is based on gastrointestinal changes, which combine to signal the onset of the disease.

Among these symptoms, we highlight chronic diarrhea with steatorrhea (the formation of voluminous, grayish or pale stools, usually with a strong odor, that float in water and have an oily appearance, or are accompanied by fat floating in the toilet bowl), abdominal cramps, malabsorption syndrome, and iron-deficiency anemia.

Other symptoms to consider include pallor, growth delays, low body weight, asthenia (weakness), and alopecia (partial or total loss of body hair in a specific area of the skin).