Is celiac disease more prevalent in patients with myocarditis compared to normal controls?
Celiac disease is significantly more prevalent in patients with myocarditis than in the general population, and a gluten-free diet with or without immunosuppression may improve cardiac symptoms in affected individuals.
BACKGROUND: Both celiac disease (CD) and myocarditis can be associated with systemic autoimmune disorders; however, the coexistence of the 2 entities has never been investigated, although its identification may have a clinical impact. METHODS AND RESULTS: We screened the serum of 187 consecutive patients with myocarditis (118 males and 69 females, mean age 41.7+/-14.3 years) for the presence of cardiac autoantibodies, anti-tissue transglutaminase (IgA-tTG), and anti-endomysial antibodies (AEAs). IgA-tTG-positive and AEA-positive patients underwent duodenal endoscopy and biopsy and HLA analysis. Thirteen of the 187 patients were positive for IgA-tTG, and 9 (4.4%) of them were positive for AEA. These 9 patients had iron-deficient anemia and exhibited duodenal endoscopic and histological evidence of CD. CD was observed in 1 (0.3%) of 306 normal controls (P4% of the patients with myocarditis. In these patients, immunosuppression and a gluten-free diet can be effective therapeutic options.
Frustaci et al. (2002) studied this question.