Celiac Disease in Elderly Patients

New research has found that it is possible to develop celiac disease late in life.  A study was done involving 2,815 people over the age of 55 to determine whether those who were found to have the disease later in life in fact developed it later in life or simply went undiagnosed for most of their lives.  In 2002 the subjects underwent blood tests and biopsies and 2.13% of them had confirmed celiac disease.  In 2005 the blood tests and biopsies were repeated and there were five new cases of celiac disease.  It is clear from the biopsies in 2002 that these five did not have the disease at that time.  They developed it over the next three years.

The symptoms of celiac disease in the elderly can be subtle or pronounced.  A study in Finland revealed that 25% of their elderly celiac patients had mild symptoms.  In an Israeli study of seven elderly celiac patients some of the symptoms involved cognitive decline that was attributed to alzheimers but later improved with a gluten-free diet.  One patient had peripheral neuropathy (numbness, weakness, or burning in arms and legs) that disappeared with the gluten-free diet.  Other patients in this study had the typical weight gain complications, anemia, and osteoporosis that were also completely resolved with a gluten-free diet.

We tend to think of celiac disease as a something that strikes children and young adults because the expansion rate of the disease has increased fourfold over the last 50 years.  But this recent study shows that this is an untrue assumption.  Doctors of  elderly patients need to keep this in mind.



One Responseto “Celiac Disease in Elderly Patients”

1. Chris James says:

   July 30, 2009 at 11:41 am

   Celiac disease can lie dormant in anyone and then with some unidentified trigger, begin wreaking havoc. Just for the fact that treatment is so relatively easy and the benefits of that treatment are overwhelmingly positive, there really needs to be a greater push to spread awareness in the medical community —my only fear is that it won’t happen because of the lack of profit in the healthcare sector.