Prevalence of Anemia in Libyan Patients with Celiac Disease Before and After a Gluten-free Diet

Abstract

Abstract BACKGROUND: This study aimed to estimate the incidence of anemia among celiac patients before and after their intake of a gluten-free diet (GFD). METHODS: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted in different departments of internal medicine, gastroenterology, and pediatrics at Tripoli University Hospital, Tripoli, Libya. The study data were retrospectively extracted from the clinical files of 100 patients who were diagnosed with celiac disease (CD). Hematological results of complete blood count for each patient before and after induction of GFD for 1 year were collected from the medical records. The data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 26 software. RESULTS: Out of 100 CD patients, 53 patients were female and 47 patients were male. The analysis showed that the values of red blood cell, hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean cell hemoglobin (MCH), and MCH concentration were significantly higher after treatment compared to before one (P < 0.05). However, the independent t-test analysis did not show a significant difference in the mean values of white blood cell and red cell distribution width before and after treatment (P > 0.05). In addition, the mean value of platelets was lower after treatment with a P = 0.047. CONCLUSION: Anemia was a common finding in the studied cases. Although the GFD improved CD symptoms, anemia persisted in a number of CD patients, even after a year of GFD treatment.