The Study
Celiac autoimmunity in autoimmune thyroid disease is highly prevalent with a questionable impact
This study looked at a group of people with thyroid problems and checked how many also had signs of celiac disease. It found that some did — but it didn’t change their diet or see what happened afterward. So we know the two conditions sometimes happen together, but we don’t know if one causes the other.
Analysis score
Maximum 44 for a cross-sectional study.
Where the score came from
This study checked if people with thyroid autoimmunity also had signs of gluten-related immune reactions.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 544 / 100
Quality score
Snapshots of a population at a single point in time, or descriptions of small groups. Can identify correlations and prevalence, but cannot determine cause and effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Even though many thyroid patients have gluten antibodies, it doesn't seem to affect how well their thyroid medicine works or their weight — so antibodies alone don't mean celiac disease or poor thyroid control.
- 28.6% of 280 thyroid patients had gluten antibodies; only 1 out of 3 who got a gut biopsy had actual celiac disease; thyroid medicine doses and weight were similar whether they had the antibodies or not.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism
Year
2016
Authors
B. Sharma, A. Joshi, P. Varthakavi, M. Chadha, Nikhil M Bhagwat, Pratibha S. Pawal
Related Content
Claims (6)
In people with autoimmune thyroid conditions, eating certain foods causes measurable negative changes in bodily functions.
Adults with autoimmune thyroid disease who also have celiac autoimmunity require the same dose of levothyroxine and have the same body weight as adults with autoimmune thyroid disease but without celiac autoimmunity.
This study did not test whether a gluten-free diet affects thyroid function or levothyroxine needs in people with autoimmune thyroid disease and celiac autoimmunity, because no dietary changes were made or tracked.
In people with autoimmune thyroid disease and positive blood tests for celiac autoimmunity, only about one in three have the intestinal damage characteristic of celiac disease when tested by biopsy. Blood tests alone cannot confirm celiac disease in this group.
About 8.6% of adults with autoimmune thyroid disease also have celiac autoimmunity, compared to 1% of adults in the general population.
Among people with autoimmune thyroid disease, the rate of celiac autoimmunity is similar in men and women, at 9.18% and 8.24% respectively.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.