Increased Incidence of Thyroid Disease in Patients with Celiac Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The prevalence of thyroid disease is likely increased among individuals with celiac disease (CD). In addition, exposure to gluten-free treatment may be associated with a risk of thyroid disease, but this association remains controversial. A systematic review was performed to evaluate the association between thyroid disease and CD. The articles were obtained from the PubMed, Web of Science, Embase, and Chinese WanFang bibliographical databases for the period up to May 2016. The results were analysed in a meta-analysis with odds ratios (ORs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). There were 13 articles in this meta-analysis, including 15629 CD cases and 79342 controls. Overall, the prevalence of thyroid disease in patients with CD was significantly increased compared with that in the control groups (OR 3.08, 95% CI 2.67–3.56, P<0.001). Moreover, there was no significant difference in the OR between the gluten-treated and untreated groups (OR 1.08, 95% CI 0.61–1.92, P = 0.786). The results of our meta-analysis support the hypothesis that the prevalence of thyroid disease in patients with CD is increased compared with that in controls, which suggests that CD patients should be screened for thyroid disease. The effect of gluten-free treatment on thyroid disease needs further investigation.