A new Mayo Clinic study, published this month in the journal Gastroenterology, reports that celiac disease is four times more common today than it was 50 years ago.
Celiac, an immune system reaction to gluten in the diet, affects about one in 100 people, according to the Mayo research.
Says Mayo gastroenterologist Joseph Murray, "We also have shown that undiagnosed or 'silent' celiac disease may have a significant impact on survival. The increasing prevalence, combined with the mortality impact, suggests celiac disease could be a significant public health issue.
"Something has changed in our environment to make it much more common. Until recently, the standard approach to finding celiac disease has been to wait for people to complain of symptoms and to come to the doctor for investigation. This study suggests that we may need to consider looking for celiac disease in the general population, more like we do in testing for cholesterol or blood pressure."
