Symptoms of celiac disease

Different patients have different symptoms. Another problem is that symptoms may occur in the digestive system, or in other parts of the body. 

Symptoms of celiac disease may include one or more of the following:

• gas
• recurring abdominal bloating and pain
• chronic diarrhea
• pale, foul-smelling, or fatty stool
• weight loss / weight gain
• fatigue
• unexplained anemia (a low count of red blood cells causing fatigue)
• bone or joint pain
• osteoporosis, osteopenia
• behavioral changes
• tingling numbness in the legs (from nerve damage)
• muscle cramps
• seizures
• missed menstrual periods (often because of the excessive weight loss)
• infertility, recurrent miscarriage
• delayed growth
• failure to thrive in infants
• pale sores inside the mouth
• tooth discoloration or loss of enamel
• rash called dermatitis herpetiformis - itchy, blistering skin disease that also stems from gluten intolerance.

A person with celiac disease may have no symptoms. Patients must understand that the longer a person goes undiagnosed and untreated, the greater the chance of developing malnutrition and other complications.

The most common symptoms of malnutrition are

• anemia,
• delayed growth, and
• weight loss.

Many Celiac sufferers who struggle with malabsorption are deficient in the following nutrients:

• Essential Fatty Acids
• Iron
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin K
• Calcium
• Magnesium
• Folic Acid

Risk factors

Although celiac disease can affect anyone, it tends to be more common in people of European descent and people with disorders caused by other autoimmune disorders such as:

• Lupus erythematosus
• Type 1 diabetes
• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Autoimmune thyroid disease
• Liver disease
• Collagen vascular disease
• Sjögren's syndrome

Diagnosis

Diagnosis of celiac disease is often very complicated because some of the symptoms are similar to those of other diseases. It is very often confused with:

• irritable bowel syndrome,
• iron-deficiency anemia caused by menstrual blood loss,
• Crohn's disease,
• diverticulitis,
• intestinal infections, and
• chronic fatigue syndrome.

Some researches done in the past have proven that people with celiac disease have levels of certain autoantibodies in their blood higher than normal. Autoantibodies are proteins that react against the body's own molecules or tissues. That’s why, to diagnose this disease, physicians will usually test blood to measure the levels of:

• Immunoglobulin A
• anti-tissue transglutaminase  
• IgA anti-muscles antibodies 

If the test results and symptoms are unclear, the doctor will perform a small bowel biopsy. To take the tissue sample, the doctor eases a long, thin tube called an endoscope through the mouth and stomach into the small intestine.

Screening is also a possible which in case of the celiac disease involves testing for the presence of antibodies in the blood in people without symptoms.