Celiac disease: Biochemical and histopathological considerations of local patients

Abstract

Background: Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic small intestinal condition caused by immune-mediated pathology, which is due to the prolonged deficiency of gluten in genetically susceptible people and induced by the ingestion of a complex protein, gluten, found in cereals such as barley, wheat, and rye. Objectives: This study aimed to identify the frequency of individuals affected by CD in Duhok city and the impact of certain environmental factors on the disease occurrence. Materials and Methods: The current study was conducted in the Duhok central public health laboratory in Duhok/Kurdistan region/Iraq. This study involved 500 intestinal biopsy samples from which 34 biopsies diagnosed as having CD characteristics by histopathological examination performed by specialists in Duhok central public health laboratory. This finding was also supported by serological testing results using the tissue transglutaminase assay (tTG-IgA). Results: The results revealed that female CD patients exceeded male CD patients and represented by 24 (70.6%) and 10 (29.4%), respectively. Furthermore, a total of 18 (52.9%) individuals affected by CD were born in summer and spring months, while 16 (47.1%) subjects were born in fall and winter months. Our work also showed that subjects who had clinical presentation indicating and/or referring to risk factors for developing CD and tested positive for anti-TTG antibodies had a greater probability of manifesting duodenal damage and an ultimate diagnosis of the disease. The result of this study showed that the percentage of breastfed patients was 22 (64.7%) and cow milk-fed patients were 4 (11.8%), five (14.7%) patients were breastfed for = 6 months, and 3 (8.8%) patients were fed both. Conclusion: Histopathological and serological assays have powerful diagnostic potential, and one can potentiate the results of others. Environmental risk factors can determine the rate and intensity of the condition.