Risk Factors Associated with the Occurrence of Autoimmune Diseases in Adult Coeliac Patients

OBJECTIVES: Autoimmune diseases (AD) may be associated with coeliac disease (CD), but specific risk factors have been poorly investigated. The aim of this study was to assess the spectrum of AD and its specific risk factors associated in a series of adult coeliac patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed a single-center case-control study including adult newly diagnosed CD patients. To evaluate the risk factors of the association between AD and CD, 341 coeliac patients included were categorized on the basis of AD presence: 91 cases with at least one AD and 250 controls without AD were compared for clinical, serological, and histological features. Eighty-seven cases were age-gender-matched with 87 controls. RESULTS: Among 341 CD patients, 26.6% of CD patients had at least one AD. Endocrine and dermatological diseases were the most prevalent AD encountered: autoimmune thyroiditis was present in 48.4% of cases, psoriasis in 17.6%, and type I diabetes and dermatitis herpetiformis in 11%, respectively. At logistic regression, factors associated with AD were a positive 1st-degree family history of AD (OR 3.7, 95% CI 1.93–7), a body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m(2) at CD diagnosis (OR 2.95%, CI 1.1–3.8), and long standing presentation signs/symptoms before CD diagnosis (>10 years) (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.1–3.7). Analysis on age-gender-matched patients confirmed these results. CONCLUSIONS: CD patients with family history of AD, overweight at CD diagnosis, and a delay of CD diagnosis had an increased risk of having another AD. The benefit of CD screening in these specific subsets of patients with AD awaits further investigation.