Quanto há de doença celíaca na síndrome dispéptica?

Abstract

Introduction: Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition triggered by the ingestion of and contact with gluten in genetically predisposed individuals. Dyspeptic syndrome, on the other hand, is characterized by chronic upper digestive symptoms. The relationship between these two conditions is the main focus of this review.

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of celiac disease in patients with dyspeptic syndrome based on the analysis of epidemiological characteristics, upper digestive endoscopy, duodenal histology and serology.

Method: Narrative review carried out with information published on virtual platforms in Portuguese and English and analyzed during the period from January 2022 to August 2023. The material for reading and analysis was selected from the SciELO platforms – Scientific Electronic Library Online, Google Scholar, Pubmed and Scopus using the following terms: “dyspepsia, celiac disease, gluten, prevalence” with AND or OR search, considering the title and/or abstract. Afterwards, the full texts were read, including 18 articles.

Results: In dyspeptic patients, the average age was 45.13 years and the female gender was predominant. Symptoms associated with gluten were reported in 6%. The antitransglutaminase antibody was positive, with an estimated prevalence of 1.5%. Considering the Brazilian sample of 100 patients, the diagnosis of celiac disease was made with a prevalence of 3%.

Conclusion: Although the prevalence of celiac disease in dyspeptic patients may be higher than in the general population, results are variable and depend on several factors, including testing methodologies and regional characteristics. This review also highlights the importance of an individualized approach in the investigation of celiac disease in dyspeptic patients, considering aspects such as family history, gluten-related symptoms and autoimmune comorbidities.