I'm not usually in the habit of posting about anything other than food, but this video of Dr. Joseph Murray of the Mayo Clinic caught my attention. I stumbled on it while visiting a number of different blogs. It is short and has information that is important for Celiacs and non-Celiacs alike. It is based on a study done by the Mayo Clinic.
Two important points that I took away from the video - Celiac is much more common now than it was 50 years ago. Though there isn't an explanation yet for this, the doctor suggests that the reasons for it becoming so much more common than it was 50 years ago need to be explored. He also explains that, based on the findings of the research, there is a serious impact on survival for Silent Celiacs (or undiagnosed Celiacs) who have no symptoms. The doctor explains that the research points to serious public health implications. Where we now routinely expect to have our cholesterol and blood pressure tested, Celiac should become much more routinely tested in the general population.
When I was diagnosed 3 1/2 years ago, 1 in 133 people were found to have Celiac. Today, 1 in 100 have Celiac, as opposed to 1 in 700 in 1950!
This is very interesting. Thanks for posting it.
ReplyDeleteGreat video. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Misty Faucheux
Social Media Manager
@earthfare
My mom was wondering if there's something about our food being genetically modified that has caused this increase in Celiac disease. I didn't realize it was becoming more common. I just thought more people were becoming aware of it.
ReplyDeleteWhat's interesting to me is that (1.) In the 50's, the rate was 1 in 700 for ppl born in the 30's. (2.) Presently, that SAME population has a rate nearer to 1 in 100. To me, this is further evidence of blood testing's inability to diagnose Celiac before the damage becomes severe. For every 1 person that wouldve tested positive in the 50's, there were 4 people who were been negative then, but now are positive today.
ReplyDeleteDoctors continually tell patients "Oh, we ran the Celiac blood test. We ruled that out." Their patients trust them, and suffer with "IBS" for years, maybe the rest of their lives, because CD was "ruled out". The medical community really needs to rethink CD diagnosis.
Thank goodness for Dr. Fine. Someday the rest will catch up.
I have an issue with this study: the 50 year old samples are from the military. So, at that point they were still rejecting people with health problems (like being underweight), so there is a sample bias in this group. All the unhealthy ones were excluded from the group. So, it's difficult to say the incidence has really gone up when it could just be the preselected group of patients.
ReplyDeleteThis selection bias also casts doubt on the 4x increased risk of death. It could be that since these were the least symptomatic celiacs, the average risk is much higher than 4x.
Also, I'm not sure they actually used the most sensitive test to look for CD, so it may be higher.
As for GMO foods making a difference, there is no GMO wheat on the market yet (but it may be arriving shortly- be sure to contact your representatives about whether you think introducing plants with foreign genes that will spread endlessly with unpredictable effects on protein production and digestibility is a good idea). However, wheat has been hybridized to such a degree in this country that it is both less nutritious and less digestible than it used to be. I have patients who can tolerate wheat in the middle east but not here. Also, the other GMOs and novel ingredients (artificial sweeteners et al) may be inflaming the gut enough to sensitize people to whatever they have a propensity for.
Finally, I'm not sure that celiac has truly increased to 1 in 100 or if it's just people getting lazy and rounding 1 in 133 off to 1 in 100.