Excessive consumption of gluten up to the age of 5 related to the risk of celiac disease

Washington: If you are a pasta or bread lover, this could be bad news, because a new study has shown that a significant intake of gluten from a very early age could lead to gluten intolerance and that children could develop celiac disease.

The results of this study were published in the journal JAMA. They suggest that a higher than normal intake of gluten during the first five years of your life is associated with the likelihood of developing celiac disease, a digestive disease that damages the small intestine.

Increased gluten consumption was associated with a 6.1% increase in the risk of autoimmunity for celiac disease, an immunological response to gluten, and a 7.2% increase in the risk of celiac disease. gram of extra gluten a day.

In this study, researchers analyzed more than 6,600 neonates born between 2004 and 2010 in the United States, Finland, Germany and Sweden. All children had a genotype associated with type 1 diabetes and celiac disease.

Every few months, the study's authors recorded the children's gluten intake up to the age of five and compared the levels to the baseline intake levels. gluten in healthy children at every age. Until the end of the study, 1,216 children, or nearly 20%, developed autoimmunity related to celiac disease, the first sign of the body's negative response to the disease. protein, said Carin Andren Aronsson, author of the study, Diabetes and Celiac Disease at Lund University in Sweden.

Celiac disease, about 7%, was affected by 450 other people. According to the study, most diagnoses occurred between 2 and 3 years. In people with celiac disease, eating gluten damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents the absorption of nutrients.

"Our study shows a clear association between the amount of gluten consumed by children and the risk of developing celiac disease or pre-celiac disease," said Daniel Agardh, associate professor at Lund University and consultant at Skane University Hospital in Malmo.

Current results show that children aged 2 to 3 years are at increased risk of developing celiac disease. The increase in risk was noticeable even with small amounts of gluten, a daily intake of 2 grams – or the equivalent of a slice of white bread. "A daily intake of gluten of more than 2 grams at 2 years of age was associated with a 75% increase in the risk of developing celiac disease," said Carin Andren Aronsson, a dietitian at the University. from Lund.

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