Increased Risk of Celiac Disease in Patients with Uveitis.

PURPOSE: To examine whether patients with non-infectious uveitis (NIU) are at increased risk for celiac disease (CeD).

METHODS

Celiac antibody testing was completed in 112 patients. The control group included patients who had undergone upper endoscopy for suspicion of CeD.

RESULTS

2/112 (1.79%) of patients with NIU had positive anti-tTG serology and CeD was confirmed in both patients. When compared to the expected risk of CeD in the general Israeli population of 0.31%, this corresponded to an odds ratio of 5.77 (95% CI 1.4118 to 23.4737, P = 0.049). Three additional patients had positive serology for CeD but the diagnosis was not confirmed.

CONCLUSIONS

An increased risk of CeD was detected in patients with NIU. We therefore recommend screening for CeD in NIU patients. Larger prospective studies are required to further validate these results.