Is Celiac Disease a Rare Childhood Disease?

Myths about Digestive Disorders

Researchers have only recently begun to understand the many, often complex diseases that affect the digestive system. Accordingly, people are gradually replacing folklore, old wives' tales, and rumors about the causes and treatments of digestive diseases with accurate, up-to-date information. But misunderstandings still exist, and while some folklore is harmless, some can be dangerous if it keeps a person from correctly preventing or treating an illness. Listed below is a common misconception (fallacy), about a digestive disease, followed by the facts as professionals understand them today.

Celiac Disease

Is celiac disease a rare childhood disease?

No!

Celiac disease affects both children and adults. About 1 in 200 people in the United States have celiac disease. Sometimes celiac disease first causes symptoms during childhood, usually diarrhea, growth failure, and failure to thrive. But the disease can also first cause symptoms in adults of any age. These symptoms may be vague and therefore attributed to other conditions.

Symptoms can include:

• bloating,
• diarrhea,
• abdominal pain,
• skin rash,
• anemia, and
• thinning of the bones (osteoporosis).

Celiac disease may cause such nonspecific symptoms for several years before being correctly diagnosed and treated.

People with celiac disease should not eat any foods containing gluten, a protein in wheat, rye, and barley, whether they have symptoms or not. In celiac disease, gluten destroys part of the lining of the small intestine, which interferes with the absorption of nutrients. Even a small amount of gluten can cause damage, and sometimes no symptoms will be apparent.