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Lower prevalence of CVD found among patients with celiac disease

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ORLANDO, Fla. — Incidence and risk factors for cardiovascular disease were less prevalent among patients with celiac disease than controls in a study presented at Digestive Disease Week.

Researchers compared the medical records of 637 patients with celiac disease (CD) to matched controls. Evaluated factors included diabetes status, BMI, tobacco use, blood pressure and lipid profiles. Incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD), including heart failure, peripheral or coronary artery disease and stroke, were compared between the groups, during a median follow-up of 4.74 years among patients and 4.63 years among controls.

“We found that patients with celiac disease have lower risk for cardiovascular disease, and factors [such as] hypertension, hyperlipidemia and diabetes, and also they have lower BMI and tend to smoke less,” investigator Rohini R. Vanga, MD, research fellow in the gastroenterology division of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, told Healio.com. “It’s good to tell patients that … it’s probably predictive to have celiac disease, and your risk for dying from cardiovascular disease is low compared to someone who does not have celiac disease.”

All evaluated risk factors were less prevalent in the CD group, including hypertension (22.1% vs. 33.9%; P<.0001), hyperlipidemia (16.7% vs. 30.2%; P<.0001), smoking (5.9% vs. 13.5%; P<.0001), elevated BMI (mean 25.83 vs. 28.46; P<.0001) and insulin-dependent (5% vs. 2.6%; P=.0414) and noninsulin-dependent diabetes (NIDDM; 4.3% vs. 15.6%; P<.0001). Prior (3.4% vs. 7.9%; P=.001) and incident CVD (3% vs. 7.3%; P=.0015) also were less common among patients than controls. Patients of advanced age were more prone to hypertension, hyperlipidemia, NIDDM and CVD in both groups, but prevalence was significantly lower among CD patients.

Framingham Risk Score (FRS) values were lower among patients at diagnosis (6.8% vs. 9.4%; P=.001) and at follow-up (8.4% vs. 11%; P=.003) compared with controls. Among participants who did not develop CVD, mean FRS scores were lower in the CD group (P=.02), but scores were similar among those with CVD regardless of CD status (P=.5).

Disclosure: Researchers Ciaran P. Kelly, MD, and Daniel A. Leffler, MD, reported numerous financial disclosures.

For more information:

Vanga RR. Sa1258: Celiac Disease Is Associated with Lower Prevalence of Cardiovascular Disease. Presented at: Digestive Disease Week 2013; May 18-21, Orlando, Fla.