Prevalence of neurological problems in a community-based sample of paediatric coeliac disease: a cross-sectional study.

Abstract

The prevalence of and risk factors for neurological problems in childhood coeliac disease (CD) are unclear. We performed a cross-sectional, community-based audit of CD in children diagnosed from January 2010 to December 2016 in Lothian. 79 (28%) of 284 children with CD (201, 70.8% female) (mean age 8.3 years, range of 1-16) had neurological problems. Fifteen (5.3%) had headaches/migraine, 10 (3.5%) anxiety, 8 (2.8%) motor/co-ordination problems / ataxia (there were no patients with ataxia), 7 (2.5%) had behavioural issues, 5 (1.8 %) with ASD, 5 (1.8%) low mood, 4 (1.4%) ADD/ ADHD, 3 (1.1%) seizures and 2 (0.7%) had neuropathy. Neurological problems were more common with later age at CD diagnosis (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.14) and male gender (OR 1.69, 95% CI 0.96 to 2.95). Prevalence of neurological problems in children with CD in Lothian is lower than published adult CD studies and similar or lower to the reported prevalence in the general childhood population.