Long-term health and treatment outcomes in adult coeliac disease patients diagnosed by screening in childhood.

BACKGROUND

The diagnostic yield of coeliac disease could be improved by screening in at-risk groups, but long-term benefits of this approach are obscure.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate health, quality of life and dietary adherence in adult coeliac patients diagnosed in childhood by screening.

METHODS

After thorough evaluation of medical history, follow-up questionnaires were sent to 559 adults with a childhood coeliac disease diagnosis. The results were compared between screen-detected and clinically-detected patients, and also between originally asymptomatic and symptomatic screen-detected patients.

RESULTS

In total, 236 (42%) patients completed the questionnaires a median of 18.5 years after childhood diagnosis. Screen-detected patients (n = 48) had coeliac disease in the family and type 1 diabetes more often, and were less often smokers and members of coeliac societies compared to clinically-detected patients, whereas the groups did not differ in current self-experienced health or health concerns, quality of life or dietary adherence. Screen-detected, originally asymptomatic patients had more anxiety than those presenting with symptoms, whereas the subgroups were comparable in other current characteristics.

CONCLUSION

Comparable long-term outcomes between screen-detected and clinically-detected patients support risk-group screening for coeliac disease. However, asymptomatic patients may require special attention.