Current evidence on whether perinatal risk factors influence coeliac disease is circumstantial.

UNLABELLED: Coeliac disease is triggered by an interplay of environmental and genetic factors and is one of the most prevalent autoimmune diseases in children, occurring in about 1% of Europeans. Over the last few decades, there has been a growing interest in the role of the perinatal environment in coeliac disease and this review discusses the growing body of literature on coeliac disease and perinatal risk factors.

CONCLUSION

There is still only circumstantial evidence that the perinatal environment influences coeliac disease development. Large-scale cohort studies and emerging scientific concepts, such as epigenetics, may help us establish the role of these environmental factors.