A Clinical Investigation on ADHD-Traits in Childhood Celiac Disease.

OBJECTIVE

There are no definitive results about either the presence of exact comorbidity between celiac disease (CD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders (ADHD) or etiology. We intend to screen ADHD-related cognitive and behavioral traits in children with biopsy-proven CD and investigate the possible association of these traits with certain vitamin levels, body-mass index, and gluten-free diet (GFD) compliance.

METHOD: A total of 85 children with biopsy-proven CD (the ages of 8-18 years) were compared with age and sex-matched 72 healthy controls in terms of demographics, psychiatric symptoms, certain vitamin levels, and anthropometric measurements.

RESULTS

ADHD-like cognitive issues, such as inattention and learning difficulties, as well as psychosomatic symptoms and poor prosocial behavior, were all associated with GFD noncompliance in childhood CD.

CONCLUSION

Untreated CD may predispose to ADHD-resembling symptoms. Physicians should be aware of the probability of ADHD misdiagnosing due to ADHD-resembling cognitive and behavioral traits in untreated CD.