Epidemiology of coeliac disease in children in one Croatian county: the cumulative incidence over ten-year period and the way of clinical presentation (Part I).
Coeliac disease is a permanent intolerance to gluten, producing small-intestinal lesions. Its incidence in European countries varies from 1:400 to 1:2000, while there are no such epidemiological data for Croatia. Therefore, we investigated the incidence of coeliac disease for ten-year period in one well-defined region. Also, data concerning age at diagnosis and symptoms at the disease onset were collected. The cumulative incidence was 1.9:1000 life-births. The disease presented typically in more than 60% of cases. In 65% of patients, symptoms appeared during the first 2 years of life, while, when diagnosed, 45% were below 2 years. Also, it was shown that coeliac disease presented significantly later in children diagnosed during the last five years (p < 0.05). In conclusion, coeliac disease in Croatia is more frequent than previously suspected. It presents early, mostly with classical symptoms, although a tendency towards later ages of diagnosis was observed during the last few years.
Matek
Z
Z
Referral Center for Paediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Children's Hospital, Zagreb, Croatia.
Jungvirth-Hegedus
M
M
Kolacek
S
S
D000367:Age Factors; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D017523:Croatia / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male