Celiac disease in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.

OBJECTIVES

Celiac disease (CD) is one of the most common chronic diseases. Celiac disease has been associated with several autoimmune disorders, but the association with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) as a systemic autoimmune disease is still controversial. In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of biopsy-proven CD in patients with SLE, and to determine the clinical symptoms and laboratory data in these patients.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

In a cross-sectional study, SLE patients at a referral clinic were evaluated for gastrointestinal symptoms between March and December 2016. Patients were evaluated by a gastroenterologist, and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy with intestinal biopsy was performed if deemed necessary. The clinical symptoms, laboratory data, and endoscopy results were recorded and compared between groups.

RESULTS

In total, 130 patients were evaluated in this study. Gastrointestinal symptoms were present in 40% of the patients. Endoscopy was performed in all SLE patients with gastrointestinal symptoms. Four patients (3%) were diagnosed as having CD based on biopsy results and response to a gluten-free diet. Anti-endomysium antibody (AEA) was found to be 100% sensitive and 99.2% specific for the diagnosis of CD in SLE patients, and anti-gliadin antibody (AGA) had a 50% sensitivity and 98% specificity. Patients with comorbid CD and SLE were significantly more likely to have diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea/vomiting, recurrent oral aphthosis, and anemia.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study suggest that a significant association is present between CD and SLE. We found a prevalence of 3% for biopsy-proven CD in patients with SLE, which is five times the prevalence of CD in the general population.