title: Clinical and anthropometric profile of children with celiac disease in Punjab (North India).
abstract: This prospective study was carried out to evaluate the clinical and anthropometric profile of 71 children confirmed to have celiac disease on the basis of clinical features, duodenal biopsy and unequivocal improvement on gluten-free diet. Serological tests were performed in 35 cases. The patients were divided into three age groups <5 years, 5-10 years, and >10 years as per the age of presentation to the hospital. Mean age was 8.7 years with a slight female preponderance. Diarrhea was the commonest presentation in group I and failure to thrive in group III. All patients in group III, had weight for age (w/a) <3rd percentile and majority (83 per cent) had short stature, with delayed puberty in all. All children had significant improvement in symptoms and growth on gluten restriction. None of the patients had been suspected to have celiac disease before, which signifies that in spite of increasing incidence of celiac disease, this disease is grossly under-diagnosed in North India where wheat is the staple diet. It is essential to make an early diagnosis of celiac disease in children to prevent growth delay.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Dayanand Medical College & Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India. poonipa@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Puneet Aulakh
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Pooni
authors.forename: Rajoo Singh
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Chhina
authors.forename: B K
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Jaina
authors.forename: Daljit
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: Anil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gautam
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D000886:Anthropometry; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003906:Developing Countries; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D011446:Prospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D017678:Sex Distribution