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Home Wellbeing Health Is it coeliac disease? New campaign aims to raise awareness of anaemia and undiagnosed coeliac diease

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A new campaign by the charity Coeliac UK launched today aims to focus attention on the link between anaemia and undiagnosed coeliac disease, to mark the start of Coeliac UK Awareness Week.

  A new campaign by the charity Coeliac UK launched today aims to focus attention on the link between anaemia and undiagnosed coeliac disease, to mark the start of Coeliac UK Awareness Week.

One in 100 people in the UK has coeliac disease, while, current research indicates that only 24% of those with the condition are diagnosed, leaving an estimated half a million people in the UK struggling with undiagnosed coeliac disease5. Undiagnosed coeliac disease can lead to a number of complications including osteoporosis, fertility problems and, in rare cases, small bowel cancer if left untreated.

Almost a quarter (23%) of British adults recalled being told they were anaemic following a blood test, according to a recent YouGov survey¹ for Coeliac UK; the charity is concerned that as anaemia is experienced in up to 50% of patients with coeliac disease at diagnosis, many with anaemia may have undiagnosed coeliac disease.

Iron-deficiency anaemia is experienced by 2-5% of men and postmenopausal women and 5-12% of premenopausal women in the UK at any time², but occurs in some 30-50% of patients with coeliac disease at diagnosis³. NICE Guidance for the recognition, assessment and management of coeliac disease recommends that GPs screen patients with recurring or unexplained iron, B12 or folate deficiency anaemia for coeliac disease4.

One in 100 people in the UK has coeliac disease, while, current research indicates that only 24% of those with the condition are diagnosed, leaving an estimated half a million people in the UK struggling with undiagnosed coeliac disease5. Undiagnosed coeliac disease can lead to a number of complications including osteoporosis, fertility problemsand, in rare cases, small bowel cancer if left untreated.

Almost a quarter (23%) of British adults recalled being told they were anaemic following a blood test, according to a recent YouGov survey¹ for Coeliac UK; the charity is concerned that as anaemia is experienced in up to 50% of patients with coeliac disease at diagnosis, many with anaemia may have undiagnosed coeliac disease.

Iron-deficiency anaemia is experienced by 2-5% of men and postmenopausal women and 5-12% of premenopausal women in the UK at any time², but occurs in some 30-50% of patients with coeliac disease at diagnosis³. NICE Guidance for the recognition, assessment and management of coeliac disease recommends that GPs screen patients with recurring or unexplained iron, B12 or folate deficiency anaemia for coeliac disease4.

Sarah Sleet, chief executive of Coeliac UK the national charity for people with coeliac disease said: “Recurring or unexplained anaemia, is a key symptom to help in the search for those with undiagnosed coeliac disease. These people are probably suffering in silence, taking supplements and worrying about what’s causing their anaemia off and on for years, when a simple blood test for coeliac disease might just reveal the answer and change their life for the better, forever.”

The charity recommends those wondering if they need to be tested for coeliac disease to take its online assessment, which allows people to check symptoms and related conditions and advises whether they should go to their GP to be screened. Since the assessment was launched under a year ago, over 30,000 people have taken the questionnaire. From feedback, the initial results suggest that around 8% of those who were recommended to seek testing went on to be diagnosed with coeliac disease.

Thyroid screening may benefit women with fertility problems

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Screening for thyroid disease should be considered in women with fertility problems and recurrent early pregnancy loss, according to a review published in The Obstetrician & Gynaecologist.

“Abnormalities in thyroid function can have an adverse effect on reproductive health and result in reduced rates of conception, increased miscarriage risk and adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes,” Amanda Jefferys, BMBS, BMedSci, MRCOG, of the Bristol Center for Reproductive Medicine at Southmead Hospital in the United Kingdom, said in a press release. “However, with appropriate screening and prompt management, these risks can be significantly reduced.”

Jefferys and colleagues conducted the review to gather information on the effect of thyroid disorders on reproductive health. The researchers also sought to gather information on how to optimize thyroid function in order to improve reproductive outcomes.

There can be adverse effects on reproductive health, decreased conception rates, increased early pregnancy loss, and adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes with abnormalities in thyroid function, including hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.

Compared with 1.5% of women in the general population, 2.3% with fertility problems have hyperthyroidism. Menstrual irregularity has been linked to hyperthyroidism. Preterm delivery, preeclampsia, growth restriction, heart failure and stillbirth are all possible adverse outcomes of pregnancy in women with hyperthyroidism.

Less than 1% of women of reproductive age have hypothyroidism, which can cause a delay in reaching sexual maturity during childhood and adolescence as well as menstrual problems in adulthood.

Currently, national guidelines do not recommend screening for asymptomatic women with problems conceiving.

“Thyroid disease can have significant effects on reproduction from conception to birth; however, with appropriate screening, a high index of suspicion and prompt management, risks can be significantly reduced if not ameliorated,” the researchers wrote. “The benefits of [levothyroxine] replacement in euthyroid women and with [autoimmune thyroid disease] both preconceptually and during pregnancy remain a grey area and further research is needed to confirm benefit.”