International Journal of Advances in Medicine | October 2020 | Vol 7 | Issue 10 Page 1475 International Journal of Advances in Medicine Sunu C et al. Int J Adv Med. 2020 Oct;7(10):1475-1479 http://www.ijmedicine.com pISSN 2349-3925 | eISSN 2349-3933 Original Research Article Frequency of celiac disease in patients with vitiligo Cenk Sunu 1 , Ceyhun Varim 2 *, Cengiz Karacaer 2 , Yasin Kalpakci 1 INTRODUCTION CD occurs as a result of intolerance to gluten in cereals such as wheat, barley, oats and rye. The disease progresses with characteristic histopathological findings such as inflammation in small intestine and villus atrophy, and recovery is observed with a gluten-free diet. 1 In most of the CD cases, patients are asymptomatic, or the disease progresses with minor symptoms, and these patients are often undiagnosed. Accordingly, true prevalence of disease in community is unknown. 2-5 The prevalence of the disease in a screening study conducted with healthy blood donors in Turkey was found to be 1.3%. 6 In a screening study conducted in European countries, a high prevalence was observed between 1/80- 1/300 in both healthy children and adults. 7-10 The use of serological tests with high specificity and sensitivity is beneficial in detecting atypical patients. The most commonly used serological screening tests are based on tTG antibodies (IgA and IgG) and anti- endomysial (EMA) antibodies. The sensitivity and specificity of tTG antibody assays are above 95%, while anti-endomysial (EMA) antibody assays have 100% sensitivity and specificity. 5,11 There are also reports claiming that the sensitivity of tTG antibodies is somewhat higher than that of anti-endomysial antibodies. 12 The definitive diagnosis of CD is made by duodenal or jejunal biopsy. 1,11 In the classic form of CD, diarrhea, abdominal pain, iron, folate, calcium, and vitamin D deficiency, and weight loss are observed. However, it can also be presented by ABSTRACT Background: Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune and inflammatory disease that occurs in the small intestine as a result of gluten intake in individuals. Vitiligo, in which autoimmune factors play an essential role, is associated with depigmentation due to the loss of epidermal melanocytes. Many autoimmune diseases are known to be associated with vitiligo. This study aims to determine the frequency of CD in vitiligo cases. Methods: Out of 61 vitiligo patients, 32 (52.4%) are women, and 29 (47.6%) are men; of the 119 healthy volunteers, 58 (48.7%) are women, and 61 (51.3%) are men. Serum levels of tissue transglutaminase (tTG) IgA and tTG IgG antibodies were measured in all participants. If at least one of these two antibodies are positive, mucosal biopsies were taken from the second section of the duodenum by endoscopy. Results: There is no significant difference between the study group and the control group in terms of age and body mass index (BMI) (p=0.16, p=0.80, respectively). tTG IgA and tTG IgG were positive in one patient in each group. In both patients, the results of the duodenal biopsy were histopathological compatible with CD. There was no difference between the vitiligo group and the control group in terms of CD frequency (p=0.56). Conclusion: The frequency of CD in vitiligo patients is similar to the control group. However, it should be kept in mind that the frequency of CD in patients with vitiligo may be higher than the rates assumed incidental, and necessary research should be carried out for early diagnosis in such patients. Keywords: CD, Vitiligo, Prevalence 1 Department of Hematology, 2 Department of Internal Medicine, Sakarya University Research and Education Hospital, Sakarya, Turkey Received: 27 July 2020 Accepted: 02 September 2020 *Correspondence: Dr. Ceyhun Varim, E-mail: ceyhunvarim@sakarya.edu.tr Copyright: © the author(s), publisher and licensee Medip Academy. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18203/2349-3933.ijam20204060