Colorectal Adenoma Risk Is Increased among Recently Diagnosed Adult Celiac Disease Patients

The association between celiac disease and colorectal neoplasia has been previously studied, but the question whether recently diagnosed celiac patients show an increased colorectal adenoma prevalence remains unanswered.

To compare the prevalence of colorectal adenomas between adult patients with a recent diagnosis of celiac disease versus healthy controls.

A retrospective case-control study was undertaken. Patients with a diagnosis of celiac disease at an age of 45 years or more who undertook colonoscopy six months before or six months after the initiation of a gluten-free diet were enrolled as cases. Asymptomatic subjects undertaking screening colonoscopy were recruited as controls in a 2 : 1 fashion. The prevalence of colorectal adenomas and the prevalence of advanced adenomas were compared between groups.

57 celiac disease patients and 118 controls were enrolled. There was a greater prevalence of female patients among the celiac group, with no significant differences in terms of age. There were more obese patients among controls and a higher proportion of tabaquism among celiac patients. Adenoma prevalence was significantly higher among celiac patients (47.37% versus 27.97%, p = 0.01). Advanced adenoma detection was not different between groups.

Adult patients with a recent diagnosis of celiac disease have an increased prevalence of colorectal adenomas.