Djeukeu Asongni William, Assiéné Agamou Julien Armel, Boudjeka Guemkam Vanessa, Mawamba Adelaide Demasse, Dongho Dongmo Fabrice Fabien, Fongnzossie Fedoung Evariste, Nyangono Biyegue Fernande Christine, Gouado Inocent
Department of Home Economic, Advanced Teacher's Training College for Technical Education, University of Douala, P.O. Box 1872, Douala, Cameroon.
Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Douala, P.O. Box 24157, Douala, Cameroon.
BMC Gastroenterol. 2025 Jul 1;25(1):459. doi: 10.1186/s12876-025-04073-w.
Data on the prevalence of celiac disease are scarce in Cameroon; however, it has been demonstrated that the effectiveness of self-reported questionnaires as a tool for identifying individuals at risk of celiac disease has been established. This study was therefore designed to assess the risk of celiac disease among adults in semi-rural and urban areas (Moungo and Wouri) using self-reported questionnaires.
For this purpose, a cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among individuals over 18 who visited district hospitals. Data were collected through a questionnaire, with scores assigned to calculate risk levels. Associations between risk levels and socio-demographic and health history parameters were analyzed using multivariate methods.
Based on the questionnaires results, results 36.6% of urban respondents were classified as moderate risk compared to 75.3% in semi-rural areas. Conversely, 63.4% of urban participants were high risk, while only 0.7% of semi-rural participants fell into this category. Symptoms like vomiting, heartburn, and headaches were linked to a transition from moderate to high risk. Factors such as diarrhea-constipation alternation, enamel hypoplasia, and frequent wheat consumption significantly influenced risk levels.
These findings represent potential risk of celiac disease based on symptoms and risk factors. This questionnaire-based risk assessment study highlights that a significant proportion of the Cameroonian population could be at risk of developing celiac disease. Therefore, proper diagnostics such as serological testing should be urgently conducted in further studies to confirm these observations.
喀麦隆关于乳糜泻患病率的数据稀缺；然而，已经证明自我报告问卷作为识别乳糜泻风险个体的工具的有效性已得到确立。因此，本研究旨在使用自我报告问卷评估半农村和城市地区（蒙戈和武里）成年人患乳糜泻的风险。
为此，对前往地区医院就诊的18岁以上个体进行了一项横断面描述性研究。通过问卷收集数据，并分配分数以计算风险水平。使用多变量方法分析风险水平与社会人口统计学和健康史参数之间的关联。
根据问卷结果，36.6%的城市受访者被归类为中度风险，而半农村地区这一比例为75.3%。相反，63.4%的城市参与者为高风险，而半农村参与者中只有0.7%属于这一类别。呕吐、胃灼热和头痛等症状与从中度风险转变为高风险有关。腹泻与便秘交替、牙釉质发育不全和频繁食用小麦等因素显著影响风险水平。
这些发现代表了基于症状和风险因素的乳糜泻潜在风险。这项基于问卷的风险评估研究强调，很大一部分喀麦隆人口可能有患乳糜泻的风险。因此，在进一步研究中应紧急进行适当的诊断，如血清学检测，以证实这些观察结果。
