No abstract

Background High gluten intake is associated with increased risk of celiac disease (CD) in children at genetic risk. Objectives To investigate if different dietary gluten sources up to age two years confer different risks of celiac disease autoimmunity (CDA) and CD in children at genetic risk. Design Three-day food records were collected at age six, nine, 12, 18 and 24 months from 2088 Swedish genetically at-risk children participating in a 15-year follow-up cohort study on type 1 diabetes and celiac disease. Screening for celiac disease was performed with tissue transglutaminase autoantibodies (tTGA). The primary outcome was CDA, defined as persistent tTGA positivity. The secondary outcome was CD, defined as having a biopsy showing Marsh score ≥ 2 or an averaged tTGA level ≥ 100 Units. Cox regression adjusted for total gluten intake estimated hazard ratios (HR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) for daily intake of gluten sources. Results During follow-up, 487 (23.3%) children developed CDA, and 242 (11.6%) developed CD. Daily intake of ≤158 g porridge at age nine months was associated with increased risk of CDA (HR 1.53, 95% CI 1.05, 2.23, P = 0.026). A high daily bread intake (>18.3 g) at age 12 months was associated with increased risk of both CDA (HR 1.47, 95% CI 1.05, 2.05, P = 0.023) and CD (HR 1.79, 95% CI 1.10, 2.91, P = 0.019). At age 18 months, milk cereal drink was associated with an increased risk of CD (HR 1.16, 95% CI 1.00, 1.33, P = 0.047) per 200 g/day increased intake. No association was found for other gluten sources up to age 24 months and risk of CDA or CD. Conclusions A high daily intake of bread at age 12 months and milk cereal drink during the second year in life is associated with increased risk of both celiac disease autoimmunity and celiac disease in genetically at-risk children.