Celiac disease among at-risk individuals in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: To perform a meta-analysis for celiac diseases (CD) among at-risk populations in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), as well as a comparison with our previously reported meta-analysis in the normal population.

METHODS: In March 2018, at King Abdulaziz University,  Jeddah, KSA we commenced a retrospective comprehensive database and journal search for CD among at-risk populations in SA. Data from each of the relevant articles were analyzed using the  Statistical Package for Social Science Version 20 (Armonk, NY: IBM Corp.). and the comprehensive meta-analysis program (CMA). The collected data were part of a retrospective literature review and analysis. Thus, a written ethical approval was not obtained before commencing the study. Results: Sixteen articles were found covering type-1 diabetes mellitus (DM), short stature (SS), and down syndrome (DS). Ages 1-50 years . The prevalence of seropositive-CD was 15.6% with high heterogeneity (I2=80.353), while prevalence of biopsy-proven CD was 10.6% with high heterogeneity (I2=73.359). Another article reported the CD prevalence in the at-risk population as 18.4% for the seroprevalence and  6.9% for the biopsy-proven CD. Anti-transglutaminase (anti-tTG) was used in 12 studies; in the remaining 4 studies (EMA in 2, ARA with AGA in one and no details given in one study). Conclusion: Both the prevalence of biopsy-proven CD (10.6%) and seroprevalence (15.6%) were higher than those we previously reported in the normal population (1.4% and 2.7%). The female-to-male ratio (1.9/1) of CD patients was the same in normal and at-risk populations in SA. Meta-analysis for prevalence of CD in DM, SS, and DS separately in SA is recommended.