Research conducted at G.F. Johannsson and co-authors has provided new information about celiac disease
March 16th, 2009
2009 MAR 16 -- " Prospective epidemiological studies based on serological methods have shown that celiac disease is more common than previously thought. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of celiac disease among apparently healthy blood donors in Iceland," scientists writing in the journal Digestive Diseases and Sciences report.
" Plasma samples were obtained from 813 apparently healthy blood donors at the FSA Hospital Blood Bank in Akureyri, Iceland, between December 2004 and January 2007 and screened for human tissue transglutaminase IgA antibodies. Positive samples were retested and, if the test was again positive, the subject was referred to a gastroenterologist for clinical examination and a duodenoscopy with mucosal biopsies. Six subjects tested positive for tissue transglutaminase. The prevalence of biopsy-confirmed celiac disease, according to modified Marsh classification, among apparently healthy blood donors in Iceland was found to be 1:136 (0.74%, 95% confidence interval 1/667-1/75, 0.15-1.33%)," wrote G.F. Johannsson and colleagues.
The researchers concluded: " Prevalence of celiac disease in Iceland is similar to what has been reported in many other countries."
Johannsson and colleagues published their study in Digestive Diseases and Sciences (The Prevalence of Celiac Disease in Blood Donors in Iceland. Digestive Diseases and Sciences, 2009;54(2):348-350).
Additional information can be obtained by contacting G. Kristjansson, FSA University Hospital, Dept. of Medical, IS-600 Akureyri, Iceland.
The publisher of the journal Digestive Diseases and Sciences can be contacted at: Springer, Van Godewijckstraat 30, 3311 Gz Dordrecht, Netherlands.
