Celiac Disease Screening on Students of the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics and Medical School at Ege University

WOS: 000219056100003Aim: Celiac disease is an autoimmune enteropathy which improves in genetic predisposition circumstances. Silent and atypical forms cause diagnostic problems. In this study; we aimed to improve the awareness by applying the finger prick test to the students studying in two different departments at Ege University. Materials and Methods: We included 143 of the 173 students from Ataturk School of Health, Department of Nutrition and Dietetics in this study and 359 5th grade students in the Faculty of Medicine who were selected randomly during their practical lesson. Biocard finger prick test was applied to a total of 502 students. Students with positive results were further examined based on ESPGHAN 2012 diagnosis criteria. Results: Of the 502 students, 259 were females (51.5%) and 243 were males (49.5%). The age range was 17-24 years. Finger prick test was positive in 1 female student from the department of nutrition and dietetics (1/143), and in 3 male students from the faculty of medicine (3/359). These four students had anemia and the others were asymptomatic. One of the asymptomatic students was overweight. Routine hematological, biochemical and serological tests were performed in these four students. None of them presented isolated IgA deficiency. Anti-tissue transglutaminase, anti-gliadin and anti-endomysial antibodies were positive. Duodenal endoscopy revealed mucosal damage in these four students. Histopathological examinations were found to be compatible with Marsh 3 celiac disease. All patients were started on a gluten free diet. Conclusion: In this study, after the screening test during routine practice, we found a prevalence of celiac disease of 0.8% among students of two different departments at Ege University. Of the students, 50% were asymptomatic and this finding drew attention to the silent form of the disease