By Jason Clevenger
Summary: A published study by a group of Swedish researchers examined mortality rates of children born to a parent with biopsy-proven celiac disease compared to the general population. The researchers also looked at rates for children born to mothers who had undiagnosed celiac disease at the time of the child’s birth.
The researchers analyzed Swedish medical records from an almost 40-year period covering tens of thousands of subjects. They ultimately determined that death rates for children with a celiac parent were no higher than those in the general population. The death rate was also similar for children of mothers with undiagnosed celiac disease.
Conclusion: While celiac disease itself has been associated with increased mortality and negative effects on pregnancy, this large-scale study suggests there is no mortality difference for children who have a celiac parent. The authors did not examine whether the children themselves had celiac disease.
[1] “Mortality rate in children born to mothers and fathers with celiac disease: a nationwide cohort study.”, Zugna D, Richiardi L, Stephansson O, Cnattingius S, Ludvigsson JF., #American Journal of Epidemiology# 2013 Jun 15;177(12):1348-55.
