CELIAC DISEASE: SYMPTOMS, CAUSES AND EFFECTS

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Celiac disease or celiac sprue is a common disease that occurs in people digestive system. The people with this condition have adverse reaction to food containing gluten. Gluten is a type of protein that commonly can be found in three types of cereals such as wheat, rye and barley. It also can be found in food such as bread, pasta and biscuit. In the case of celiac disease, the immune system of the body treated one of substances that make gluten, gliadin, as a threat to the body and negatively react to it. The immune system produces antibodies to fight the supposed to be harmful substance. This antibodies cause surface the intestine become inflamed, disrupting the ability of the body to absorb the nutrient from the food lead to malnourished condition to people with the celiac disease. If this condition happened to infant or toddler, it will make them failed to thrive, in term of the weight and height. In older, the malnourished condition can lead to late blooming.

In United States, 1 in every 100 to 200 people has this condition[1], while in UK it affects 1 in every 100 people[2]. The number might be higher because some milder cases may go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed and treated as other disease. The disease may affect to all people at any age. Women with celiac disease are two to three times higher than men[3] from all the cases that were reported. The symptoms have high probability to develop during early childhood – between 8-12 months old and usually it takes several months before correct diagnosis is made or in later adulthood – between ages of 40 to 60 years[4].

Due to adverse reaction to gluten, people with this condition should avoid gluten in their diet.