Abstract
Enterovirus and adenovirus infections have been linked to the development of celiac disease. We evaluated this association in children who developed biopsy-proven celiac disease (N = 41) during prospective observation starting from birth, and in control children (N = 53) matched for the calendar time of birth, sex, and HLA-DQ genotype. Enterovirus and adenovirus infections were diagnosed by seroconversions in virus antibodies in longitudinally collected sera using EIA. Enterovirus infections were more frequent in case children before the appearance of celiac disease-associated tissue transglutaminase autoantibodies compared to the corresponding period in control children (OR 6.3, 95% CI 1.8–22.3; p = 0.005). No difference was observed in the frequency of adenovirus infections. The findings suggest that enterovirus infections may contribute to the process leading to celiac disease.
Highlights
Celiac disease is one of the most common immune-mediated diseases with a prevalence of 0.5–1% in the general population
Enterovirus infections were frequent in both case and control children as altogether 98% of case children and 96% of control children had had at least one infection by the time of tissue transglutaminase autoantibodies (tTGA) seroconversion
Time-dependent analyses showed that case children had significantly more enterovirus infections than control children during the 24 months preceding tTGA seroconversion: 51% of case children compared to 25% of control children had enterovirus infection during this time period (OR = 6.26, 95% CI = 1.76–22.28, p = 0.005; Table 1; Figure 2)
Summary
Celiac disease is one of the most common immune-mediated diseases with a prevalence of 0.5–1% in the general population. Several studies have suggested that certain virus infections, those caused by enteral viruses, are associated with the development of celiac disease [2]. A recent prospective study showed association between parechoviruses and celiac disease [7]. Enterovirus infections were linked to the initiation of the disease process in two prospective birth cohort studies while other tested viruses did not [8, 9] supporting a previous study showing enterovirus RNA and protein in the small intestinal biopsy samples collected from patients with celiac disease [10]. One recent prospective study showed no association between enterovirus or any other studied viruses and celiac disease [11]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
