Gallstone Frequency in Children With Celiac Disease

Introduction Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic autoimmune systemic disease caused by the T cell-driven immune mechanism, which is triggered by gluten in cereals such as wheat, barley, and rye in individuals who have a genetic predisposition. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the frequency of gallstones in children with CD. Methods A total of 120 patients who were diagnosed with CD and who were followed-up by the pediatric gastroenterology clinic of the hospital and 100 healthy children were included in the study. The age, gender, hemogram, biochemistry, and abdominal ultrasonography images of the patients were compared. Cases that had gallstones were evaluated in terms of fasting serum lipids, glucose-6-P dehydrogenase, and pyruvate kinase, osmotic fragility, hemoglobin electrophoresis, and peripheral smears. Cases diagnosed with a hematological or metabolic disease were excluded from the study. Celiac serology was examined in terms of CD diagnosis in cases who had gallstones for the first time. Results The median age of the patients with CD who were included in the study was eight years (5-12), and the median age of the control group was 10 years (6-13). A total of 48% of the Control Group was female, and 52% were male. No significant differences were detected between the age and gender distribution of the cases. There were no differences between hemogram and biochemical parameters. Gallstones were detected in six (5%) of CD-diagnosed cases, and in three (3%) of the cases in the control group. Two (2/160; 1.3%) of the patients who were referred to our clinic with the diagnosis of gallstones were diagnosed with CD. Conclusions: Early diagnosis and treatment of CD is important to avoid gallstone development because a gluten-free diet corrects enteropathy significantly in CD. CD must be considered in cases with gallstones.