BMI Status of Children with Celiac Disease Has Changed in the Last Decades: A 30-Year Retrospective Study

Abstract

The presenting pattern of celiac disease (CD) at diagnosis in children has changed over time, with a reduction of malabsorption-related phenotypes and an increase in regular or even excessive growth patterns. We retrospectively reviewed the body mass index (BMI) distribution of all patients with a new diagnosis of CD made in a Pediatric Gastroenterology Outpatient Clinic in 1990–2011, compared to those diagnosed in 2012–2022, according to their clinical and serological characteristics. The 1990–2011 and 2012–2022 cohorts included 250 (M:F = 90:160, mean age 7.3 ± 6.1 years) and 243 children (M:F = 81:162, mean age 7.1 ± 3.7 years, NS), respectively. The prevalence of underweight (UW) was higher in the 1990–2011 cohort (61/250, 24.4% in 1990–2011 vs. 31/243, 12.7% in 2012–2022, p = 0.0001), whereas that of overweight (OW) and obese (OB) subjects was significantly higher in 2012–2022 (10/250, 4% in 1990–2011 vs. 24/243, 9.9% in 2012–2022, p = 0.012, and 1/250, 0.4% in 1990–2011 vs. 8/243, 3.3% in 2012–2022, p = 0.018, respectively). In both cohorts, gastrointestinal symptoms were more frequent in OW/OB than in UW children (6/11, 54.5% vs. 5/61, 8.2% in 1990–2011, p < 0.0001, and 24/32, 75% vs. 10/31, 32.3%, p < 0.0001 in 2012–2022), and the extent of anti-transglutaminase antibody increase was similar in OW/OB and UW subjects. The prevalence of children with a normal or even high BMI at CD diagnosis has increased in the past three decades; therefore, CD should be suspected regardless of BMI status.