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. 2013 Apr 21;19(15):2374-8.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v19.i15.2374.

Seroprevalence of celiac disease among healthy adolescents in Saudi Arabia

Abdulrahman M Aljebreen  1 , Majid A Almadi, Alwaleed Alhammad, Faleh Z Al Faleh
Affiliations

Seroprevalence of celiac disease among healthy adolescents in Saudi Arabia

Abdulrahman M Aljebreen et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Aim: To identify the seroprevalence of celiac disease among healthy Saudi adolescents.

Methods: Between December 2007 and January 2008, healthy students from the 10(th) to 12(th) grades were randomly selected from three regions in Saudi Arabia. These regions included the following: (1) Aseer region, with a student population of 25512; (2) Madinah, with a student population of 23852; and (3) Al-Qaseem, with a student population of 16067. Demographic data were recorded, and a venous blood sample (5-10 mL) was taken from each student. The blood samples were tested for immunoglobulin A and immunoglobulin G endomysial antibodies (EMA) by indirect immunofluorescence.

Results: In total, 1167 students (614 males and 553 females) from these three regions were randomly selected. The majority of the study population was classified as lower middle class (82.7%). There were 26 (2.2%) students who had a positive anti-EMA test, including 17 females (3.1%) and 9 males (1.5%). Al-Qaseem region had the highest celiac disease prevalence among the three studied regions in Saudi Arabia (3.1%). The prevalence by region was as follows: Aseer 2.1% (10/479), Madinah 1.8% (8/436), and Al-Qaseem 3.2% (8/252). The prevalence in Madinah was significantly lower than the prevalence in Aseer and Al-Qaseem (P = 0.02).

Conclusion: Our data suggest celiac disease prevalence might be one of the highest in the world. Further studies are needed to determine the real prevalence.

Keywords: Antiendomysial antibody; Celiac disease; Epidemiology; Prevalence; Saudi Arabia.

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