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The association between coeliac disease and cardiovascular disease
1Medicines Monitoring Unit, Division of Medicine and Therapeutics, Ninewells Hospital and Medical School, Dundee, UK.
Insights
Coeliac disease patients show a higher risk of cardiovascular events. This study suggests a link between coeliac disease and adverse cardiovascular outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Cardiology
- Epidemiology
Background:
- Coeliac disease prevalence is higher than previously recognized.
- The relationship between coeliac disease and cardiovascular health is not well-established.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if individuals with coeliac disease face an elevated risk of cardiovascular events.
Main Methods:
- A community-based cohort study utilized a record-linkage database.
- Included 367 coeliac patients (positive antibody test or biopsy) and 5537 controls (negative coeliac immunology).
Main Results:
- Coeliac patients had an adjusted relative risk of 1.9 (95% CI: 1.00-3.60) for cardiovascular events.
- Excluding prior cardiovascular disease hospitalizations, the adjusted relative risk increased to 2.5 (95% CI: 1.22-5.01).
Conclusions:
- Coeliac disease appears to be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular outcomes.
Background:
Coeliac disease is more prevalent than was previously thought. The association between coeliac disease and cardiovascular outcome is not clear.
Aim:
To investigate whether coeliac disease patients have an increased risk of cardiovascular events.
Methods:
A community-based cohort study using a record-linkage database. Three hundred and sixty-seven coeliac patients identified by a positive antiendomysial antibody test or a diagnosis with small bowel biopsy, and 5537 subjects who were tested and had a negative coeliac immunology, were included in the study.
Results:
The crude rates of cardiovascular events were 9.5 per 1000 person-years (95% CI: 4.4-14.6) in the coeliac cohort and 8.9 per 1000 person-years (95% CI: 7.6-10.3) in the antiendomysial antibody-negative cohort. Compared with the antiendomysial antibody-negative cohort, the adjusted relative risk of cardiovascular events for coeliac cohort was 1.9 (95% CI: 1.00-3.60). When we excluded patients who had previous hospitalization for cardiovascular disease, the adjusted relative risk was 2.5 (95% CI: 1.22-5.01). The use of any cardiovascular drugs prior to and after entry to the study were 36% and 29% for the coeliac cohort (P = 0.05), and 34% and 26% for the antiendomysial antibody-negative cohort (P < 0.01).
Conclusion:
Our findings suggest that coeliac disease seems to be associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular outcome.
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