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A trial of oats in children with newly diagnosed celiac disease
E J Hoffenberg1, J Haas, A Drescher
1Section of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition, Center for Pediatric Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, The Children's Hospital, Denver, Colorado, USA.
Objective:
To determine whether consumption of oats is safe in children with newly diagnosed celiac disease who are starting a gluten-free diet.
Study Design:
We conducted a self-controlled, open-label, 6-month trial of a commercial oat breakfast cereal product. Primary outcome variables were small bowel histomorphology and anti-tissue transglutaminase IgA antibody titer.
Results:
The 10 children who completed the study were 6.8 +/- 4.0 (mean +/- SD) years of age and 5 were male. Over 6.6 +/- 0.7 months, they consumed 24 grams of oat cereal per day, or 1.2 +/- 0.9 g/kg/d. Compared with start of study, at completion there was a significant decrease in biopsy score (P <.01), intra-epithelial lymphocyte count (P <.005), anti-tissue transglutaminase IgA antibody titer (P <.01), and number of symptoms (P <.01).
Conclusions:
We conclude that consumption of a commercially available oat cereal product for 6 months is safe for children with celiac disease beginning a gluten-free diet. Studies are needed to determine the long-term safety of including oat cereal in the gluten-free diet.