Retrospective Cohort Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021.
World J Gastroenterol. Apr 7, 2021; 27(13): 1311-1320
Published online Apr 7, 2021. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v27.i13.1311
Table 1 Characteristics of responders to the gluten-free diet and children with non-responsive celiac disease based on persistent symptoms after 6 mo on a gluten-free diet
Characteristic
Responders (n = 525)
NRCD (n = 91)
P value
Female sex, n (%)339 (65)70 (77)0.02
Age at biopsy (yr), median (IQR)9.4 (5.9, 13.4)9.6 (5.7, 13.4)0.73
Caucasian race1 (%)410/438 (92)75/85 (91)1.00
Hispanic2 (%)6/438 (1)4/84 (5)0.06
Medical history
Diabetes mellitus, n (%)39 (7)3 (3)0.18
Thyroid condition, n (%)20 (4)1 (1)0.34
Down syndrome, n (%)12 (2)0 (0)0.23
Family history of celiac disease, n (%)144 (27)22 (24)0.53
Family history of other autoimmune disease3 , n (%)239 (46)43 (47)0.73
BMI at diagnosis4, median (IQR)17.0 (15.6, 20.0)16.4 (15.1, 19.3)0.03
BMI z-score at diagnosis5, median (IQR)0.18 (-0.48, 0.82)0.00 (-1.12, 0.58)0.02
≥ 1 nutrition visit within first 120 d of GFD, n (%)342 (65)75 (82)0.001
Time between diagnosis and first nutrition visit (wk), median (IQR)4.0 (2.1, 7.0)3.4 (2.2, 5.6)0.36
Data unknown:
1n = 86.
2n = 84.
4n = 33.
5n = 39.
3Lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, type 1 diabetes, auto-immune thyroid diseases. P value from Fisher’s exact test or Wilcoxon rank-sum test. IQR: Interquartile range; GFD: Gluten-free diet; NRCD: Non-responsive celiac disease.
Table 2 Signs and symptoms at diagnosis of celiac disease among responders to the gluten-free diet and non-responsive celiac disease patients
Responders (n = 525)
NRCD (n = 91)
P value
Abdominal pain, n (%)286 (54)64 (70)< 0.006
Hard or infrequent stools, n (%)147 (28)49 (54)< 0.0001
Nausea/vomiting, n (%)127 (24)26 (29)0.43
Diarrhea, n (%)133 (25)22 (24)0.90
Weight loss, poor weight gain, n (%)126 (24)21 (23)0.89
Fatigue, n (%)71 (14)15 (16)0.51
Short stature, n (%)78 (15)8 (9)0.14
Gassiness, n (%)58 (11)9 (10)0.86
Abdominal distention, n (%)63 (12)5 (5)0.07
Loss of appetite, n (%)53 (10)14 (15)0.15
Neurologic1, n (%)4 (1)3 (3)0.07
Psychiatric2, n (%)0 (0)2 (2)0.02
Arthritis, arthralgia, n (%)28 (5)9 (10)0.10
Rash, n (%)25 (5)4 (4)1.00
Mouth ulcers, n (%)18 (3)5 (5)0.37
Other3, n (%)5 (1)10 (11)< 0.0001
1Neurologic symptoms include: Headache (n = 6), blurry vision (n = 1).
2Psychiatric symptoms include: anxiety (n = 1) and restrictive eating disorder (n = 1).
3Other signs and symptoms include: Fecal soiling (n = 2) dysphagia (n = 2), symptomatic anemia (n = 2), rectal bleeding (n = 3), encopresis (n = 2), hair loss (n = 2) delayed puberty (n = 1), easy bruising (n = 1). P value from Fisher’s exact test. NRCD: Non-responsive celiac disease.