Celiac disease associated with primary biliary cirrhosis in a Coast Salish native

Abstract

A 41-year-old Coast Salish female was initially diagnosed with typical features of classical adult celiac disease. Clinical and pathological features of primary biliary cirrhosis were also present, along with a familial history of insulin-dependent diabetes. Later, childhood celiac disease was detected in a male first-degree relative with diabetes. These patients are the first reported natives in Canada with celiac disease, a disorder believed to be genetically based but dependent on environmental factors for its clinical expression. The recognition of a 'new' disease in the setting of an aboriginal population may reflect geographical and climatic factors that permitted subsistence of this culturally complex food-gathering society up until most recent historical times, followed by adaption of this society to European -based agricultural methods, particularly wheat cultivation.