Celiac disease in Saudi children with isolated short stature: is it rare or are we not screening rigorously enough?

Background Celiac disease (CeD) is an immune-mediated enteropathy induced by gluten exposure in individuals with genetic susceptibility. Short stature (SS) can be the sole clinical manifestation of CeD, in the absence of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of CeD in Saudi Arabian children with SS. Patients and methods Medical records were reviewed in a total number of 275 retrospective cases (during the period 2002-2014) of children with isolated SS from King Abdulaziz University Hospital, Jeddah. Their serum samples were tested with tissue transglutaminase (tTG) antibodies. Patients with a positive serology were scheduled for an upper endoscopy and intestinal biopsy to confirm CeD diagnosis before starting a gluten-free diet (GFD). Clinical, anthropometric and laboratory data were recorded for all patients. Results A total of 275 children with SS were included. The mean age ± standard deviation (SD) was 9.4 ± 4.0 years (range, 2.6-16.9 years) and males constituted the predominant gender group (151/275; 54.9%) over females (124/275; 45.1%). The mean ± SD height for age z score (HAZ) was -2.9 ± 1.0.Thirty-eight (13.8%) had positive serology, and 16 (5.8%) had biopsy-proven CeD. Apart from the difference in duration of delayed bone age between CeD patients and CeD-negative serology subjects (mean ± SD, 39.6 ± 10.5 vs. 18.6 ± 16.8, p = 0.02), no other major difference in other clinical or laboratory parameters was evident. Conclusions The prevalence rate of CeD in Saudi Arabian SS children was 5.8%, which is comparable to published reports of a number of other countries. Regular screening of children with SS is therefore justifiable.