Diabetes and Autoimmune Diseases: Prevalence of Celiac Disease in Children and Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes

Objective: Determinate the prevalence of celiac disease in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1) in attendance in Instituto Estadual de Diabetes a Endocrinologia Luiz Capriglione (IEDE). Methods: Blood samples were analyzed in 120 children and adolescents with DM1 from IEDE Diabetes Clinic for the IgA antitissue-transglutaminase antibody and dosage of the seric IgA. Those with positive serology were guided for upper endoscopy with small-bowel biopsy to confirm the celiac disease. Results: The antibody was positive in 3 of the 120 patients. The small-bowel biopsy was confirmatory in all of the positive patients, leading to a prevalence of celiac disease of 2.5% in the studied group. Conclusions: The prevalence of celiac disease is increased in children and adolescents with DM1 when compared with normality. As most are asymptomatic, it is recommended periodical screening of celiac disease in children with DM1. (Arq Bras Endocrinol Metab 2008; 52/9:1461-1465)