Background: The association between celiac disease and colorectal neoplasia has been previously studied, but the question whether recently diagnosed celiac patients show an increased colorectal adenoma prevalence remains unanswered.
Aims: To compare the prevalence of colorectal adenomas between adult patients with a recent diagnosis of celiac disease versus healthy controls.
Materials and methods: A retrospective case-control study was undertaken. Patients with a diagnosis of celiac disease at an age of 45 years or more who undertook colonoscopy six months before or six months after the initiation of a gluten-free diet were enrolled as cases. Asymptomatic subjects undertaking screening colonoscopy were recruited as controls in a 2 : 1 fashion. The prevalence of colorectal adenomas and the prevalence of advanced adenomas were compared between groups.
Results: 57 celiac disease patients and 118 controls were enrolled. There was a greater prevalence of female patients among the celiac group, with no significant differences in terms of age. There were more obese patients among controls and a higher proportion of tabaquism among celiac patients. Adenoma prevalence was significantly higher among celiac patients (47.37% versus 27.97%, p = 0.01). Advanced adenoma detection was not different between groups.
Conclusion: Adult patients with a recent diagnosis of celiac disease have an increased prevalence of colorectal adenomas.