Sarcoidosis in Patients with Celiac Disease

Abstract

Several case reports and European studies have suggested an association between sarcoidosis and celiac disease; however, they have been inconsistent. We therefore analyzed a large cohort of celiac-disease patients to assess this association. An anonymized database of patients with celiac disease was reviewed to determine the number of patients with sarcoidosis. Age- and gender-adjusted standardized morbidity ratios with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated by comparing results to US-population-derived prevalence data. Ten patients were found to have a comorbid diagnosis of sarcoidosis, representing an age- and gender-adjusted standardized morbidity ratio of 36.8 (95% CI 26.7-50.9). In this cohort of patients with celiac disease, there was a significantly increased risk of sarcoidosis when compared with the American white population. This further strengthens prior associations that have been made suggesting a shared mechanism behind the etiologies of celiac disease and sarcoidosis.