Coeliac Disease in Chronic Hepatitis C: a French Multicentre Prospective Study

Background: A prevalence of 1.2% of coeliac disease (CD) in patients with chronic hepatitis C was recently reported, suggesting a possible epidemiological link between these two diseases. However, other studies have not found this relationship.

Aim: To conduct a French multicentre prospective study to assess the prevalence of CD in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-infected patients.

Methods: Between June 2003 and November 2005, 624 consecutive HCV-positive out-patients were tested for antiendomysial IgA antibodies (AEA), antigliadin IgA and IgG antibodies (AGA). Patients with positive AEA or IgA AGA and positive IgG AGA in a context of a high suspicion of CD were asked to undergo gastroscopy with duodenal biopsies.

Results: Isolated IgA AEA, IgA AGA and IgG AGA were 0.16%, 5.7% and 4.4%, respectively. Gastroscopy was required for 39 patients, 31 were performed (eight refusals), but only 25 duodenal biopsies were performed as six patients had cirrhosis. CD was never detected.

Conclusions: The prevalence of CD in HCV-positive patients was 0% (95% confidence interval: 0-0.59%), but there is a low prevalence of CD in the whole French population.