The risk of JIA is increased nearly 3-folds among children with confirmed diagnosis of celiac disease, according to a study published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.1 The risk is doubled among adults with celiac disease.

A total of 24,014 patients diagnosed with confirmed celiac disease between 2004 and 2017 were involved in this population-based, retrospective matched cohort study. Data was obtained from the ESPRESSO study (Epidemiology Strengthened by histoPathology Reports in Sweden). These participants were matched by age, sex, calendar year and geographic region with 117,397 people from the general population who did not have celiac disease.

The researchers calculated the incidence rate of JIA in patients younger than 18 years. Over a follow-up of 7 years, the incidence rate of JIA among the 9415 patients with celiac disease was 5.9 per 10,000 person-years vs 2.2 per 10,000 person-years in the general population with a hazard ratio (HR) of 2.7.

The incidence rate of RA 14,599 patients with celiac disease aged 18 years and older was 8.4 per 10,000 person-years compared to the incidence rate of 5.1 per 10,000 person-years in the general population with a HR of 1.7.

This study has demonstrated an association between celiac disease and JIA and RA in adults. The usual practice is to examine patients with JIA for celiac disease, note the authors. This study suggests that celiac disease patients who have joint-related symptoms should be assessed for JIA or RA or other autoimmune diseases.

Reference

1. Doyle JB, et al. Risk of juvenile idiopathic arthritis and rheumatoid arthritis in patients with celiac disease: a population-based cohort study. Am J Gastroenterol. 2022 Oct 28. doi: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000002014.