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Since 1984, more than 11,000 children with celiac disease have been registered with the "Celiac Disease Clinic" managed by the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology at the University Institute of Medical Education and Medical Research (PGIMER).
Celiac disease, an immune response to gluten consumption, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye, is one of the most common ailments in children undergoing pediatric gastroenterology.
If you have celiac disease, eating gluten can damage the lining of your gut and cause malabsorption. Following a strict gluten-free diet helps manage symptoms.
"The clinic was established in the early 2000s, but the registry has been maintained since 1984," says Dr. Sadhna B Lal, Professor and Head of Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, PGIMER.
The clinic is open twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays. "We are looking at four to five new children with celiac disease every day from OPD and the number of older cases is innumerable," she said. This means that the clinic sees about 30 to 40 new cases each month at the celiac clinic.
"The disease can be genetically determined as well as triggered by environmental causes. This means that the child must have good genetics, exposure to wheat, then that there must be an environmental trigger to cause the disease. Thus, children are not born with, but most often, this occurs in childhood, "said Dr. Sadhna. Usually, children in the age group of three to nine years have symptoms such as diarrhea, anemia, stunting, abdominal pain.
Why are more cases detected now?
"Thirty years ago, doctors thought it was a disease of the West. But we have the same genetics as Southern Europe. So we have a genetic predisposition to the disease, "she said.
The doctor said that celiac disease has been prevalent forever, but it is now discovered due to increased awareness and availability of better tests, as well as increased consumption of wheat and the evolution of protein characteristics. over the centuries.
"Previously, wheat was not so toxic, but modern World War II wheat contains more of the substances that cause celiac disease," she said.
First published: Oct 04, 2018 10:39 IST
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