Serological screening for celiac disease in adults in Japan: Shimane CoHRE study

• Published in: JGH open Vol. 4; no. 4; pp. 558 - 560
• Main Authors: Fukunaga, Mai, Ishimura, Norihisa, Abe, Takafumi, Takeda, Miwako, Isomura, Minoru, Kinoshita, Yoshikazu, Ishihara, Shunji
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Melbourne Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd 01.08.2020; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Adults; Age; Antibodies; antitissue transglutaminase IgA; Celiac disease; Disease; Gluten; Human leukocyte antigen; Irritable bowel syndrome; Leading; prevalence; Serology; Studies; Mongolia; China; Japan; celiac disease; prevalence; antitissue transglutaminase IgA; Human leukocyte antigen
• ISSN: 2397-9070; 2397-9070
• DOI: 10.1002/jgh3.12334

Background and Aim Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic autoimmune enteropathy triggered by ingested gluten in genetically predisposed individuals. Although common in Europe and the United States, cases of CD are rarely encountered in East Asia, including Japan, and its prevalence remains to be fully evaluated in a large‐scale study. We previously investigated the presence of CD in adults in Japan, which revealed a low prevalence of 1 (0.05%) of 2008 nonclinical subjects, while 1 (2.1%) of 47 symptomatic patients was diagnosed based on serology and duodenal histopathology results. To confirm those results, we conducted an additional retrospective serological screening study of adults in Japan. Methods Serum samples were collected from 2055 adults who underwent a health examination in four local areas of Shimane prefecture in Japan from July 2008 to August 2013. As a screening test for CD, the antitissue transglutaminase IgA antibody (TTG) titer was determined in all subjects, and a value greater than 10 U/mL was considered to be evidence of CD. Results Of the 2055 subjects, 4 (0.19%) showed a high concentration of TTG. Although two of the four who were seropositive had died at the time of this retrospective study, none reported prominent digestive symptoms such as diarrhea or weight loss in a follow‐up survey. Conclusions Among a general population in Japan, a positive rate of serological tests for CD was noted in 0.19%, indicating quite a low presence, consistent with our previous results. Previous studies suggested that the prevalence of celiac disease (CD) in Japan is still quite low as compared to Western countries. To confirm the findings, in the present investigation we conducted an additional retrospective serological screening study of 2055 adults different from those in the previous cohort. Among a general population in Japan, positive rate of serological test for CD was noted in 0.19%, indicating a quite low presence and consistent with our previous results.