This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

Individuals with celiac disease at no greater risk for dementia

Analysis population-based data indicated individuals with celiac disease did not have an increased risk for Alzheimer’s disease dementia, though they may have an increased risk for vascular dementia.

“Patients coming to our center have long described ‘brain fog,’ and it appears that gluten can cause cognitive effects in some individuals with and without celiac disease,” study researcher Peter H. R. Green, MD, of Columbia University, New York, said in a press release. “However, we didn’t know if these effects have long-term consequences in the form of increased risk [for] dementia.”

To determine if patients with celiac disease have increased risk for dementia, researchers assessed data from a population-based database for 8,946 individuals with celiac disease and 43,474 healthy controls. Study participants were aged 50 years and older. Median follow-up was 8.4 years.

During follow-up, 4.3% of individuals with celiac disease were diagnosed with dementia, compared with 4.4% of controls (HR = 1.07; 95% CI, 0.95-1.2).

Researchers observed an increased risk for dementia during the first year following diagnosis with celiac disease (HR = 1.73; 95% CI, 1.15-2.61), however, this risk was not present during the whole observation period.

Increased risk for dementia was restricted to vascular dementia among individuals with a specified dementia subtype (HR = 1.28; 95% CI, 1-1.64), and was not present for Alzheimer’s disease (HR = 1.12; 95% CI, 0.91-1.37).

As a result, the researchers concluded that individuals with celiac disease did not have an overall increased risk for dementia, though subgroup analysis showed they may have an increased risk for vascular dementia.

“We know that patients with celiac disease have a modestly increased rate of cardiovascular disease, and that patients who experience neurologic symptoms have abnormalities on MRIs that mimic vascular disease,” study researcher Benjamin Lebwohl, MD, MS, of Columbia University, New York, said in the release. “Our findings on vascular dementia were small and may be due to chance.” – by Amanda Oldt

Disclosure: Please see the full study for a list of all researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.