Prevalence of Celiac Disease in Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Kerman, Iran

Background & Aims: Celiac disease or gluten-sensitive enteropathy is a relatively uncommon digestive disease. Moreover, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common functional bowel disorder. Some IBS patients have celiac disease, with similar IBS symptoms in addition to some serious complications. The only possible treatment for this condition is changing the patients diet (gluten free diet). Given the importance of celiac disease and the similarity of its symptoms with IBS, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of celiac disease in patients with irritable bowel syndrome in Kerman, Iran. Methods: This was a cross-sectional study performed during 8 months on patients of 15-84 years of age diagnosed with IBS in Kerman in 2013. Serological test of immunoglobulin A anti-tissue transglutaminase (IgA anti tTG ) was request in all IBS patients for the diagnosis of celiac disease and bulb and duodenal (second part) biopsy and pathologic findings were used for definite diagnosis in seropositive patients. Results: The study included 143 patients with irritable bowel syndrome [57 males (39.86%) and 86 females (60.14%)] with a mean age of 34.57 ± 1.24. Serological tests showed that 8 (5.59%) patients were seropositive for celiac disease and duodenal biopsy showed 4 (2.79%) patients were seropositive and ( 2 males (Marsh2) and 2 females (Marsh1)) were positive for serologic and pathologic celiac disease. Among these patients, 1 patient (male) had constipation–predominant IBS, and 3 patients (1 male and 2 females) had diarrhea-predominant IBS. Conclusion: This study indicated a 5.59% prevalence of positive serologic and 2.79% prevalence of positive serologic-pathologic celiac disease in patients with IBS in Kerman. This was lower in comparison with similar studies in other regions of the country. This difference may be due to the effects of demographic, genetic, and environmental factors of each region.