The prevalence, immune profile, and clinical characteristics of children with celiac disease and type 1 diabetes mellitus in the state of Qatar

Basma Haris; Ahmed Abdellatief; Houda Afyouni; Tasneem Abdel-Karim; Shayma Mohammed; Amel Khalifa; Maryam Al-Maadheed; Mahmoud Zyoud; Ahmed Elawwa; Fawziya Al-Khalaf; Goran Petrovski; Khalid Hussain

doi:10.1515/jpem-2021-0452

Article

The prevalence, immune profile, and clinical characteristics of children with celiac disease and type 1 diabetes mellitus in the state of Qatar

Basma Haris , Ahmed Abdellatief , Houda Afyouni , Tasneem Abdel-Karim , Shayma Mohammed , Amel Khalifa , Maryam Al-Maadheed , Mahmoud Zyoud , Ahmed Elawwa , Fawziya Al-Khalaf , Goran Petrovski and Khalid Hussain

Published/Copyright: August 30, 2021

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From the journal Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism Volume 34 Issue 11

Abstract

Objectives

Children with antibody positive type 1 diabetes mellitus (type 1 diabetes) are at an increased risk of developing celiac disease (CD) which suggests a common autoimmune basis with both high-risk human lymphocyte antigen (HLA) and non-HLA factors playing a role in the pathophysiology. We aim to describe the prevalence, immune profile, and clinical characteristics of children with CD who have type 1 diabetes mellitus in Qatar.

Methods

All children (aged 0–18 years) attending a regional diabetes clinic with antibody positive type 1 diabetes were screened for CD. Measurement of tissue transglutaminase IgA and IgG as well as anti-endomysial antibody, was done, clinical details about the birth history, family history of diabetes and CD, age of onset, and ethnicity were collected.

Results

Out of the 1,325 children with antibody positive type 1 diabetes, 54 were identified to have CD on screening and then confirmed on small bowel biopsy. The prevalence of CD in the type 1 diabetes childhood population in Qatar is 4.07%. CD and type 1 diabetes were more prevalent in the Qatari children (n=32) as compared to non-Qatari (n=22) and occurred mostly in the age group 6–10 years. The most common type 1 diabetes antibodies in children with CD were glutamic acid decarboxylase and insulin autoantibody. Twelve subjects were asymptomatic for CD symptoms and picked up only on screening.

Conclusions

The prevalence of CD in children with type 1 diabetes in Qatar is comparable to reports from around the world. Many children were asymptomatic and thus routine screening is recommended.

Keywords: celiac disease; pediatric diabetes; type 1 diabetes

Corresponding author: Professor Khalid Hussain, MBChB, MD, MRCP, MRCPCH, MSc, Professor of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatric Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar, Division Chief – Endocrinology, Division of Endocrinology, Al Luqta Street, Education City North Campus, PO Box 26999, Doha, Qatar, Phone: +974-4003-7608 | +974-30322007, E-mail: khussain@sidra.org

Honorary Professor, University College London, UK.

Funding source: Qatar National Research Fund

Award Identifier / Grant number: QNRF-NPRP 10-6100017-AXX

Research funding: This research was supported by the Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF-NPRP 10-6100017-AXX) granted to Professor Khalid Hussain.
Author contributions: BH recruited the patients, analyzed and interpreted data, and drafted the manuscript. K.H. designed the study, obtained funding, and reviewed and edited the manuscript. AA collected the data. S.S., S.A., A.S., S.M., A.K., M.A., M.Z., A.S., A.E., F.A., G.P. collected patient information, reviewed the manuscript.
Competing interests: Authors state no conflict of interest.
Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study.
Ethical approval: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) for the protection of human subjects in Sidra Medicine, Qatar (IRB reference number 1702007592).

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Received: 2021-05-11

Accepted: 2021-08-16

Published Online: 2021-08-30

Published in Print: 2021-11-25

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/jpem-2021-0452

Keywords for this article

celiac disease; pediatric diabetes; type 1 diabetes