The prevalence of celiac disease among children with short stature

Abstract

Background and objectives: The most important characters of children are growth and development. There are many causes of short stature. Among causes of short stature celiac disease is the important reversible cause. Celiac disease can be diagnosed serologically or/and duodenal biopsy according to the level of serological tests or/and symptoms. The main objective of the study was to find the relation between having high tissue transglutaminase antibody and short stature Methods: This is a cross sectional study. From March 2021 to March 2022, consecutive sampling from of 79 children who presented to Helina center in Erbil city and Hawler teaching hospital (department of endocrinology) complaining to have short stature and recorded as short child. Tissue transglutaminase antibody were sent for all patients, and duodenal biopsy for selected cases were done. Result: Seventy-nine children with short stature were included in the study. Their mean age (SD) was 8.3 (3.3) years. The median was 8 years, and the age range was 1.1-16 years. More than half (54.4%) of the sample were aged 5-9 years, and 42 patients (53.2%) were females. The prevalence of celiac disease among children with short stature in our study was 13.9%, which is statistically is significant. The majority (69.6%) of the children had severe short stature (less than -2 Z score), and the rest had acceptable Z score. Conclusion: In conclusion, celiac disease should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patient who presents with short stature as it is not uncommon in our community. Sending for non-invasive investigations for diagnosing celiac disease is easier and simpler than other invasive procedures.