Increased Risk of Celiac Disease in Patients with Uveitis

Purpose: To examine whether patients with non-infectious uveitis (NIU) are at increased risk for celiac disease (CeD). Methods: Celiac antibody testing was completed in 112 patients. The control group included patients who had undergone upper endoscopy for suspicion of CeD. Results: 2/112 (1.79%) of patients with NIU had positive anti-tTG serology and CeD was confirmed in both patients. When compared to the expected risk of CeD in the general Israeli population of 0.31%, this corresponded to an odds ratio of 5.77 (95% CI 1.4118 to 23.4737, P = 0.049). Three additional patients had positive serology for CeD but the diagnosis was not confirmed. Conclusions: An increased risk of CeD was detected in patients with NIU. We therefore recommend screening for CeD in NIU patients. Larger prospective studies are required to further validate these results.