Iron deficiency closely associated with increased coeliac disease cases: BMJ

A recent study highlighted that iron deficiency could be the potential link behind the surge in coeliac disease cases. This study assessed the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with iron status and the prevalence of coeliac disease. The key findings of this study was published in the journal of BMJ Open Gastroenterology.

By utilizing the data from three genome-wide association studies (GWAS), Isabel Hujoel and team identified four SNPs that were strongly linked to systemic iron status. However, these SNPs were not associated with known risk factors for coeliac disease. Data from the UK Biobank included a total of 336,638 white British individuals, of whom 1855 had coeliac disease.

The results revealed that individuals with genetically lower iron levels faced an increased risk of coeliac disease. Also, the odds ratio per one standard deviation increase in serum iron was 0.65, with a 95% confidence interval of 0.47 to 0.91. This negative association between higher iron status and coeliac disease risk held true across various analyses, with consistent results in leave-one-out analyses. No single SNP emerged as the sole driver of this observed association.