Celiac Disease on the Rise in the US Military Population: A 22 Year Retrospective Epidemiologic Study

Abstract

Introduction: We describe celiac disease epidemiology in the US military population. Methods: This is a population-based study from data collected between 2000 and 2021. Incidence and prevalence rates and descriptive statistics for demographics are presented. Results: Overall, 2248 incident cases of celiac disease were identified. The incidence rate increased from 1.2 to 14.0 per 100,000 person-years and the overall lifetime prevalence increased from 3.1 to 57.4 per 100,000 service members. In gastroenterology clinics, the incidence rate increased from 1.4 to 8.2 per 100,000 person-years, while prevalence increased from 3.3 to 33.4 per 100,000 service members. Discussion: In this study, celiac disease incidence and prevalence increased significantly.