Evaluation of Diagnostic Factors in Childhood Celiac Disease: Descriptive Retrospective Research

Abstract

Objective: It is thought that the number of patients diagnosed with celiac disease (CD) has increased with growing awareness and diagnostic possibilities in recent years. In our study, it was aimed to evaluate the change in the incidence of CD over the years and the factors contributing to the diagnosis. Material and Methods: In our study, pediatric patients diagnosed with CD between 2010-2015 and 2016-2021 were defined as Group 1 and Group 2, respectively. Patients were evaluated in terms of demographic characteristics, symptoms, comorbidities, centers from which they are referred and the data were compared between the groups. Results: Of 257 patients, 96 (37.4%) were included into Group 1. The frequency of typical/atypical symptoms were comparable between the groups (p>0.05). The rate of asymptomatic patients, diagnosed by screening was higher in Group 2 (31.1% vs. 14.6%; p<0.05). The majority (57.6%) of the patients, diagnosed by screening, were patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus. Pediatric gastroenterology was the first admission outpatient clinic for 41.7% of patients in Group 1 and 35.2% of patients in Group 2. While the referral rates from general pediatric outpatient clinics were similar in both groups, there has been an increase in the rate of referrals from other pediatric subspecialty clinics during the last 6 years. Conclusion: According to the results of our study, the number of cases diagnosed with CD has increased in recent years. Increasing awareness among primary care physicians about CD-related atypical symptoms and screening pro-grammes are the major sources for diagnosis of new cases.