title: Prevalence of celiac disease in healthy Iranian school children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Other than its classic presentation, celiac disease can be completely asymptomatic in a proportion of the general population. Subjects with silent celiac disease are at risk of potential complications of the disease, which indicates the importance of early diagnosis. In this study we investigated the prevalence of silent celiac disease in healthy children in our area.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional screening of healthy children in Shiraz city.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifteen hundred school children, 6 to 12 years of age in Shiraz (Southern Iran) were screened for celiac disease through serological testing of their serum anti-tissue transglutaminase immunoglobulin A antibodies. A small intestinal biopsy was performed for children with positive serology tests and pathologic reports were given according to the modified Marsh criteria.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the total students included, with a mean (SD) age of 9.5 (1.3) years, 30 subjects had positive anti-tissue transglutaminase immunoglobulin A antibodies, resulting in a total seropositivity of 2%. The prevalence of biopsy proven celiac disease (silent celiac) was 0.6%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As in many other regions worldwide, this study estimated a relatively high prevalence of silent celiac disease in children in our area, citing the disease as an important health problem in our region.
authors.affiliation: Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Gastroenterohepatology Research Center, Shiraz Transplant Research Center, Shiraz 7193711351, Iran. dehghanism@sums.ac.ir
authors.forename: Seyed Mohsen
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Dehghani
authors.forename: Mahmood
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haghighat
authors.forename: Arash
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mobayen
authors.forename: Abbas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rezaianzadeh
authors.forename: Bita
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Geramizadeh
mesh_terms: D058070:Asymptomatic Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001706:Biopsy; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins / Q000276:immunology; D006801:Humans; D007070:Immunoglobulin A / Q000097:blood; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000473:pathology; D007492:Iran / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D000091345:Protein Glutamine gamma Glutamyltransferase 2; D011503:Transglutaminases / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D007070:Immunoglobulin A; D000091345:Protein Glutamine gamma Glutamyltransferase 2; D011503:Transglutaminases; D019204:GTP-Binding Proteins
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