Atherosclerotic Risk Factors in Children with Celiac Disease

Introduction and Objectives. Celiac disease (CD) is a complex autoimmune disorder occurring in genetically susceptible individuals. There is limited data on the impact of gluten-free diet (GFD) on the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Hereby, we present our study regarding the impact of treatment with GFD on the biochemical risk factors of atherosclerosis. Material and Methods. 277 patients with CD from 7 Polish clinics were enrolled in the study (210 children treated for at least 5 years and 67 children included in the study on the day of CD diagnosis and observed for 1 year on a GFD). We obtained selected clinical data, and we assessed lipid profile, apolipoproteins (A1, B, and E), lipoprotein (a), homocysteine, as well as antioxidants (folic and uric acid), and high-sensitivity CRP (hsCRP) for all patients. The compliance to GFD was verified using anti-transglutaminase antibodies and deamidated gliadin peptide antibodies. As a reference group, the data of 95 healthy children recruited for another project was used, for which we had the results of selected parameters. Results. We found significantly lower concentrations of total cholesterol, lipoprotein LDL-C, apolipoproteins A1 and B, as well as hCRP in all children with CD. We showed decreased level (5 years. Moreover, we showed significant decrease of folic acid level already after 1 year of a GFD (12 vs. 5.6 ng/mL; p