Prevalence of IgA-antiendomysium and IgA-antigliadin autoantibodies at diagnosis of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in Swedish children and adolescents

Objective. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of celiac disease (CD) in children and adolescents at diagnosis of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) before insulin treatment was started. Material and Methods. At diagnosis of IDDM, and before treatment was started, 115 children and adolescents were screened for IgA- antiendomysium (EMA) and IgA-antigliadin antibodies (AGA). Those found to be EMA-positive and/or AGA-positive were investigated further with intestinal biopsy. Results. Of the 115 patients, 2 had known CD at diagnosis of IDDM; of the remainder of patients, 6% (7/113) were found to be EMA-positive and 9% (10/113) were found to have AGA levels above normal. Of the 6 patients who underwent biopsy, 5 manifested villous atrophy. In addition, 2 patients with high EMA and AGA antibody titers refused biopsy, and 4 patients with low EMA and/or AGA titers were found to have normal titers at control before biopsy decision. Conclusion. Because the prevalence of CD at diagnosis of IDDM would seem to be 6% to 8%, screening for CD seems to be justified among patients with newly diagnosed IDDM.