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Chronic Hepatitis C Virus and Celiac Disease, is there an Association?

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Abstract

Celiac disease (CD) has been epidemiologically associated with chronic hepatitis C (HCV), and CD activation after the initiation of interferon (IFN-α) in patients with HCV is documented. However, clear association of CD and HCV is lacking. A prospectively maintained database of 878 CD patients showed a prevalence of 0.68% (six patients). Symptoms of diarrhea, weight loss, and depression prompted the diagnosis of CD during or after IFN-α therapy in four cases. Also, 294 subjects with liver disease (195 with HCV, 80 normal controls and 19 disease controls) were prospectively screened for CD. The mean age of the subjects was 50.1 years (SD 12.3), 58% males:42% females. A total of 30% received IFN-α therapy (16% at the time of testing for CD). Two HCV patients (1%) had positive tTG-IgA but these had negative endomysial antibody (EMA) and normal duodenal biopsies. CD prevalence is not increased in patients with HCV. Routine screening of CD in HCV patients is not warranted, however, the presence of CD should be considered in the setting of clinical deterioration during or after IFN-α therapy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Harkness Pavilion-956, 180 Ft Washington Avenue, New York, NY, 10032, USA

    Lincoln Hernandez, Afzal J. Naiyer, Edward J. Ciaccio, Robert S. Brown Jr. & Peter H. Green

  2. Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York, NY, USA

    Timothy C. Johnson, Albert Min & Henry C. Bodenheimer Jr.

  3. Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, USA

    Debby Kryszak & Allesio Fasano

Authors
  1. Lincoln Hernandez
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  2. Timothy C. Johnson
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  3. Afzal J. Naiyer
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  4. Debby Kryszak
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  5. Edward J. Ciaccio
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  6. Albert Min
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  7. Henry C. Bodenheimer Jr.
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  8. Robert S. Brown Jr.
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  9. Allesio Fasano
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  10. Peter H. Green
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Correspondence to Peter H. Green.

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Hernandez, L., Johnson, T.C., Naiyer, A.J. et al. Chronic Hepatitis C Virus and Celiac Disease, is there an Association?. Dig Dis Sci 53, 256–261 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-007-9851-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-007-9851-z

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