Epidemiology of celiac sprue: a community-based study.

Abstract

To address the frequency and outcome of celiac disease in a United States community. We identified all Olmsted County, Minnesota, residents diagnosed with this condition during the period, 1960 through 1990, using the resources of the Rochester Epidemiology Project. Twenty-eight incident cases (19 women, nine men) were identified. The overall age- and gender-adjusted incidence of celiac disease in the community was 1.2 per 100,000 person-yr (95% CI 0.7, 1.6). There were no significant changes in incidence over time, although rates did increase; the incidence was similar in men and women and rose with age in both genders (p < 0.05). Survival in this inception cohort was 100% at 6 months and 96% at 5 yr, which was not significantly different from expected. The estimated prevalence on January 1, 1991, was 21.8 per 100,000. This study provides the first epidemiologic data on celiac disease in the United States.