A new study has found that celiac disease (CeD) is linked to a higher risk of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) among children with CeD and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) in adults with CeD.
Specifically, the study identifies: “among children … JIA develops nearly 3 times as often as it does in the general population, and among adults with CeD, RA occurs nearly 2 times as often.”
Conducted by Dr. Benjamin Lebwohl, director of clinical research at the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University and a Celiac Disease Foundation Grant Recipient, and colleagues, the study recommends that doctors should have a low threshold to evaluate for JIA or RA when caring for patients with CeD who have joint symptoms.
As reported in Medscape Medical News: “‘We found that diagnoses of these types of arthritis were more common before a diagnosis of celiac disease compared to the general population. … This suggests that undiagnosed and untreated celiac disease might be contributing to these other autoimmune conditions,’” Dr. Lebwohl said.
For more information, read the complete study here.