Evaluation of Celiac Disease Prevalence in Patients with ADHD (Attention Deficite/ Hyperactivity Disorder)

Abstract

Background: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common behavioral disorders among children that has a significant impact on family and society. Recently since numerous cases of ADHD alongside celiac disease and improvement of behavioral symptoms of children with ADHD with gluten-free diet have been proposed, this study was conducted to determine the prevalence of celiac disease in children with ADHD based on serological findings in Sistan.
 Methods: The present study was performed on 76 children with a diagnosis of ADHD referred to the pediatric clinic of Amir Al-Momenin Hospital in Zabol. Demographic, clinical and paraclinical information such as age, sex and celiac laboratory diagnostic tests (anti-TTG and total IgA) were collected and the results were entered in the information form of each child and analyzed.
 Results: Among the 76 children participating in this study, 58 were male (76.3%) and the age range of patients was 12-2 years (6.9 ± 2.4). The results of the study showed that based on the results of celiac serology tests performed among children with ADHD, no cases of celiac disease were found. In this study, 26 children (34.21%) have anemia. However, the mean of anti-TTG and total IgA in children with anemia and children without anemia were not statistically significant (p value > 0.05).
 Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that based on serological findings, no cases of celiac disease were observed among children with ADHD.