Medical and Demographic Characteristics of Patients With Eosinophilic Esophagitis and Celiac Disease: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) and celiac disease are both chronic T helper cell-mediated inflammatory conditions of the digestive tract. Although an association between these two conditions has been suggested, it has not been well characterized in a real-world setting.

GOALS: Our objective was to better examine the association between celiac disease and EoE using a real-world population database.

STUDY: This was a retrospective cohort study of data using TriNetX, a global population database, to identify patient records using International Classification of Disease 10 (ICD-10) codes. We organized participants into six distinct cohorts predicated on age and diagnoses of celiac disease and EoE between April 28, 2003, and April 28, 2023. Patient demographics, prevalence, incidence, and medical characteristics of each cohort were extracted.

RESULTS

Among 46,398 patients with EoE and 84,383 patients with celiac disease, individuals with EoE demonstrated a higher prevalence (2.76%) and incidence (329/100,000 persons/year) of celiac disease compared with those without EoE (0.21% prevalence and 146/100,000 incidence, between 2021 and 2023). A concurrent diagnosis of both conditions increased the risk of asthma (RR: 2.00 pediatric, 1.82 adult), allergic rhinitis (RR: 2.35 pediatric, 1.81 adult), atopic dermatitis (RR: 3.28 pediatric, 2.07 adult), and rheumatoid arthritis (RR: 3.53 pediatric, 1.41 adult). In addition, patients with celiac disease with EoE exhibited a heightened risk for iron deficiency anemia (aHR 1.789; 95% CI: 1.166 to 2.745).

CONCLUSIONS

Both the incidence and prevalence of EoE are elevated in patients with celiac disease and vice versa. These concurrent diagnoses affect disease characteristics and heighten the risk of complications in celiac disease.