Micronutrient deficiencies are frequent in adult patients with and without celiac disease on a gluten-free diet, regardless of duration and adherence to the diet

• Published in: Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.) Los Angeles County, Calif.), 2022-11, Vol.103-104, p.111809-111809, Article 111809
• Main Authors: Jivraj, Aseera, Hutchinson, Joy M., Ching, Emily, Marwaha, Avantika, Verdu, Elena F., Armstrong, David, Pinto-Sanchez, M. Ines
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adults after gluten-free diet; Anxiety; Autoimmune diseases; Biopsy; Celiac disease; Constipation; Diarrhea; Diet; Ferritin; Gluten; gluten-free diet; Malabsorption; micronutrient; Minerals; Nutrient deficiency; nutritional deficiencies; nutritional inadequacy; Patients; Population; Quality of life; Questionnaires; Serology; Signs and symptoms; Small intestine; Special diets; Statistical analysis; Trace minerals; Vitamin D; Vitamin deficiency; Vitamins
• ISSN: 0899-9007; 1873-1244
• DOI: 10.1016/j.nut.2022.111809

[Display omitted] •We conducted an observational study to assess micronutrient deficiencies in individuals with and without celiac disease adopting a gluten-free diet (GFD)•The most common micronutrient deficiencies were zinc, ferritin, and vitamin D•The frequency of these nutrient deficiencies was not different between celiac and nonceliac populations, suggesting that nutrient deficiencies may be related more to GFD nutritional inadequacy rather than malabsorption•These results are clinically relevant because they highlight an important problem associated with restrictive diets, and support the need to monitor nutrition in patients adopting a GFD The only treatment for celiac disease (CD) is a strict gluten-free diet (GFD). Nutritional deficiencies are common in CD; however, how this is influenced by the presence of symptoms, duration of CD, and compliance of GFD is less clear. The objective of this study was to compare nutritional deficiencies in patients with CD to those of nonceliac populations on a GFD. The secondary outcomes were to compare deficiencies in short- (2 y and 119 patients (69.2%) were symptomatic. The most common micronutrient deficiencies were zinc (48.3%), ferritin (16.9%), and vitamin D (33.3%). There were no differences in micronutrient deficiencies between patients with CD and nonceliac controls, short- and long-term GFDs, or those strictly compliant with GFD and those who were fairly compliant (P > 0.05). These data suggest that nutrient deficiencies may be related more to GFD nutritional inadequacy rather than malabsorption.