Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is a digestive disorder caused by an immune-system reaction to eating gluten. This disease, which affects 1 in 100 people in the United States, damages the lining of the small intestine and prevents the absorption of essential nutrients from food.

Though there is no cure for Celiac disease, your Digestive Health Center doctor help identify the disease and then manage the symptoms with a gluten-free diet.


What Causes Celiac Disease?

Without clear evidence to explain why, exactly, some people’s immune system responds as it does to gluten, researchers have focused on how Celiac disease runs in families. If you have a parent, child, brother or sister with Celiac, you have a 1 in 10 chance of developing the disease. The disease can develop at any age. It is more likely to affect women than men.


What is Gluten?

Gluten is a mixture of proteins found in barley, wheat, rye and triticale. Oats grown alongside barley, wheat or rye can also contain gluten. When people with Celiac disease consume gluten, their immune system damages villi – small, threadlike projections into the opening of the intestine – that absorb nutrients. This can result in malnutrition and irreversible damage to the intestine.
A gluten-free diet requires guidance from a dietitian because gluten shows up almost anywhere, even in mouthwash, toothpaste, medications, lipstick, communion wafers and Play-Doh.


Common Symptoms of Celiac Disease

When your immune system attacks the small intestine, which extends from the stomach to the large intestine and is responsible for 90 percent of the digestion and absorption of food, it can cause:

  • Diarrhea
  • Abdominal pain
  • Gas
  • Bloating
  • Loose stool
  • Constipation
  • Nausea, vomiting
  • Unexplained weight loss
  • Unexplained short height
  • Swollen ankles
  • Joint pain
  • Headache
  • Fatigue
  • Irregular sleep
  • Bruising, bleeding
  • Skin rash
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Hair loss
  • Missed menstrual periods
  • Bloody nose
  • Mouth ulcer

Additional Health Risks for People with Celiac Disease

If you have Celiac disease, it can also increase your risk of:

  • Addison disease
  • Down syndrome
  • Hashimoto’s disease
  • Intestinal cancer
  • Intestinal lymphoma
  • Lactose intolerance
  • Primary biliary cirrhosis
  • Thyroid disease
  • Type 1 diabetes

What’s the Difference Between Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity?

Someone with gluten sensitivity might experience symptoms similar to Celiac disease, but without any damage to the small intestine.


Diagnosing Celiac Disease

A Celiac disease diagnosis, already difficult because the symptoms can resemble those of other diseases, is even more challenging today because fewer than 45 percent of adult patients have the classic signs: weight loss and diarrhea.

Not surprisingly, it can take some patients months, or even years, before Celiac disease is suspected. The specialists at the Digestive Health Center can help pinpoint Celiac disease with:

Blood tests: An immune-system reaction to gluten can cause high levels of certain antibodies common in Celiac disease.
Genetic tests: If human leukocyte antigens are not present in your blood, it’s unlikely you have Celiac disease.

Upper endoscopy: Your doctor will perform a biopsy, taking tissue samples during an upper endoscopy. If the antibodies that suggest Celiac disease are found, a blood test can confirm the disease.


Make an Appointment

Call to schedule an appointment with a digestive health specialist at Hartford Hospital.
Ask your doctor for a referral before you call.

Call 833.2DIGEST
833.234.4378


Meet our Celiac Disease Specialists:

Name Specialties Location
Sheth, Tejas V., MD, FACR, RhMSUS Sheth, Tejas V., MD, FACR, RhMSUS
4.8 /5
278 surveys
860.524.2610
  • Rheumatology
  • Hartford
  • New Britain
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Bao, Shanshan, MD Bao, Shanshan, MD 860.289.3375
  • Pediatric Radiology
  • Hartford
Bleich, Steven, MD Bleich, Steven, MD 860.522.0604
  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Glastonbury
Padegimas, Allison Seinmetz, MD, FACC Padegimas, Allison Seinmetz, MD, FACC 203.265.9831
  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Wallingford
  • Cheshire
  • West Hartford
Show Less
Pahlawanian, Anahid Maria, DO Pahlawanian, Anahid Maria, DO 860.246.6589
  • Diagnostic Radiology
  • East Hartford
Pousatis, Sheelagh, MD Pousatis, Sheelagh, MD
4.9 /5
82 surveys
860.696.5520
  • Cardiac Surgery
  • Hartford
Richardson, Elizabeth Ann, DO Richardson, Elizabeth Ann, DO 860.972.4262
  • Gastroenterology
  • Hartford
  • Hartford
  • Bridgeport
Show Less
Kapur, Sakshi, MD Kapur, Sakshi, MD 860.258.3480
  • Hematology & Oncology
  • Wethersfield
Daoud, Vladimir Paul, MD Daoud, Vladimir Paul, MD 860.246.2071
  • General Surgery
  • Bloomfield
  • Avon
  • West Hartford
Show Less
Rowe, Courtney Kaohinani, MD Rowe, Courtney Kaohinani, MD 860.545.9395
  • Pediatric Urology
  • Hartford
Sheth, Anumeha, MD Sheth, Anumeha, MD
4.7 /5
53 surveys
860.972.3600
  • Neurology
  • Hartford
  • Southington
Show Less
Khaled, Mohamad, MD, FAANS, FACS Khaled, Mohamad, MD, FAANS, FACS
4.9 /5
88 surveys
860.696.2290
  • Neurosurgery
  • Hartford
  • Enfield
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Altszuler, David Jay, MD Altszuler, David Jay, MD 203.265.9831
  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Glastonbury
  • Wallingford
Show Less
Hannon Engel, Sandra Lee, APRN Hannon Engel, Sandra Lee, APRN 860.545.7000
  • Psychiatry
  • Hartford
D'Angelo, Kyla, DO, FACC D'Angelo, Kyla, DO, FACC 860.258.3477
  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Wethersfield
  • Farmington
  • Glastonbury
Show Less
Barbour, Mohamad Firas, MD Barbour, Mohamad Firas, MD
4.9 /5
177 surveys
860.242.8756
  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Bloomfield
Griffith, John James, MD Griffith, John James, MD
4.9 /5
361 surveys
860.348.2500
  • Urology
  • Southington
  • Plainville
Show Less
Tsang, Alexander Chi-Shun, MD Tsang, Alexander Chi-Shun, MD 860.943.1997
  • Ophthalmology
  • Bloomfield
Chaudhary, Ahmed Aziz, MD Chaudhary, Ahmed Aziz, MD 860.892.2777
  • Radiation Oncology
  • Norwich
Zhao, Ran, MD Zhao, Ran, MD 860.545.7600
  • Psychiatry
  • Hartford
Malentacchi, Meghan Elizabeth, MD Malentacchi, Meghan Elizabeth, MD 860.728.1212
  • Obstetrics & Gynecology
  • Hartford
Holub, Meredith Sullivan, DO Holub, Meredith Sullivan, DO
4.9 /5
192 surveys
860.524.4550
  • Pulmonary Medicine
  • Hartford
  • Wethersfield
  • Glastonbury
Show Less
Olayanju, Jessica Adefusika, MD Olayanju, Jessica Adefusika, MD 860.347.7466
  • Ophthalmology
  • Middletown
Jean-Baptiste, Deborah Michelle, APRN Jean-Baptiste, Deborah Michelle, APRN 860.696.2400
  • Occupational Medicine
  • Wethersfield
Srinivasan, Aparna, MD Srinivasan, Aparna, MD 203.845.2160
  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Norwalk

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