Objective:The aim of this study is to determine the frequency of celiac disease (CD) in children with T1DM at the time of diabetes diagnosis and during follow-up, and to evaluate the effect of CD on growth and metabolic control in diabetic patients. Material and Methods: In this study, celiac autoantibody screening was performed at the time of diabetes diagnosis and during follow-up in 243 regularly followed-up patients who were diagnosed with T1DM between January 2007 and December 2018 at a university hospital and had a diabetes duration of at least 1 year. In serology-positive patients, the diagnosis of CD was confirmed by small bowel biopsy. The effects of CD and dietary compliance on growth and metabolic control were evaluated.
Results:The mean age of the 243 patients (124 boys, 119 girls) at the time of the study was 12.3±4.9 years, the mean duration of diabetes was 4.4±2.6 years, and the mean age at T1DM diagnosis was 7.6±4.6 years. The average glycated hemoglobin level (HbA1c) of the patients when they were diagnosed with T1DM was 11.9±2.57%. The prevalence of CD in the patients was 7% (n=17), with 88% of the patients being diagnosed with diabetes at the time of diagnosis, and 12% diagnosed with CD during follow-up.
Conclusion:In our study, the prevalence of celiac disease in patients with type 1 diabetes was found to be 7%, similar to previous studies. It was determined that the majority of diabetic patients with CD were diagnosed at the time of diabetes diagnosis, and a small number of patients were diagnosed in the first 4 years of follow-up. We found that CD negatively affects the metabolic control of diabetes, either directly or due to non-compliance with the gluten-free diet, but does not affect growth in children with diabetes.