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Patients with type 1 diabetes have been known to be more prone to another autoimmune disorder, celiac disease, in which gluten in wheat, rye and barley triggers an immune response that damages the small intestine or gut. Now there’s evidence that the two diseases have a genetic link: they share at least seven chromosome regions.

The discovery, published in this week's New England Journal of Medicine, indicates that both diseases may be triggered by similar genetic and environmental mechanisms, such as certain foods, that cause patients' immune systems to become overactive and destroy healthy instead of infected tissue. Previous research has found that celiac disease is five to 10 times more common in people with type 1 diabetes than in the general population, an editorial accompanying the study notes. 

"These findings suggest common mechanisms causing both celiac and type 1 diabetes – we did not expect to see this very high degree of shared genetic risk factors," said study co-author David van Heel, a gastrointestinal geneticist at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Van Heel and his colleagues studied genetic material or DNA from about 20,000 people, half of them healthy, nearly half with type 1 diabetes, and 2,000 with celiac disease. The overlapping genetic variants occurred on regions of chromosomes (parts of cells that carry genetic code) that are believed to regulate the gut’s immune system, the BBC notes.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when a person’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy beta cells in the pancreas that produce the hormone insulin, which is needed to convert glucose into energy. In celiac disease, a similar attack occurs on the small intestine when sufferers eat gluten-rich grains, causing inflammation in the gut that can lead to bloating, abdominal pain, nausea, constipation, diarrhea, fatigue, anemia, headaches, weight loss and failure to thrive in children. Whereas diabetes 1 patients must inject insulin daily to make up for their deficiency, people with celiac disease can avoid damage and symptoms by sticking to a gluten-free diet. 

"The finding raises the question of whether eating cereal and other gluten products might trigger type 1 diabetes by altering the function of the gut and its interaction with the pancreas, the authors write. But Robert Goldstein, chief scientific officer of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, which helped fund the study, says it would be premature to assume from this study that gluten is also a diabetes trigger.

“I fear the newspaper headlines in the popular press will read like, ‘Eating wheat will cause type 1 diabetes,’” Goldstein tells us. “The presence or absence of these associations has to be linked to some biological consequence” for a person's health.

Image by iStockphoto/dra_schwartz

8 Comments

1. 1. twyla 07:30 PM 12/11/08

   My 21 year old grand daughter was diagnosed with celiac this past year.
   I would like for someone else that has it to post some comments about this diseise.

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2. 2. MichaelThorn 08:18 AM 12/12/08

   It is great to see more research on Celiac Disease as well as the other autoimmune dieases that may be related. CD is grossly underdiagnosed in the United States. Research shows that 1 in 133 Americans have CD and rates are much higher in other areas of the world.
   Newly diagnosed persons with CD should be in touch with local support/education groups for information and assistance.
   The Gluten Intolerance Group www.gluten.net and www.celiac.com have information on all aspects of the disease.

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3. 3. borislife 06:59 PM 12/12/08

   I have celiac disease and suffer from pre-diabetes.
   

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4. 4. borislife 07:00 PM 12/12/08

   I have celiac disease and suffer from pre-diabetes.
   

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5. 5. A L Hennessy 03:48 PM 12/15/08

   I am 56 yr male. had CD for past 31 years, Type 1 diabetes for 2 years and just diagnosed with psorisis a month ago.
   What news is there about stem cell research for these ailments?
   There are two more in my family with CD, Diabetes and Lactose intolerance.
   I can come at any age and is undiagnosed very often.

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6. 6. kwain 07:59 AM 1/11/09

   My 13 year old son has had diabetes since 4 years. he has had CD for a year and a half. He has always had a very competitive nature and plays very high level sports (AAA travel hockey), but has recently shown a loss of weight and body tone. I link this to us being challenged in finding him the foods to fuel his activity, and his lack of desire to eat some of the foods that are available. He is weaker and has less energy. Can someone provide some info on what can be done to improve this or someone who has had similar challenges? I was thinking that there may be some kind of suppliment that he could take that is healthy but will provide him with some help with weight gain and energy.

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7. 7. blueglass in reply to kwain 02:49 PM 4/11/09

   Your son has had CD all of his life; it is now just showing more noticeable symptoms. CD is a serious disease that causes damage to the small intestine, so a diagnosis should not be taken lightly. This is common at the onset of puberty because the body has to turn its attention to the task of sexual and physical development, so the CD tends to gain some ground. The weight loss could be caused by excessive activity, changing body chemistry, or further damage to the small intestine resulting in a greater increase in malnutrition. You really need to work with someone who can help you with dietary suggestions. Try www.celiac.com or www.celiac.org for additional information. In my own case, I have had CD all of my life, but wasn't diagnosed until until my early 40's. I have been overly thin my whole life, and had period of time of stress when I would have unintentional weight loss, depression, etc. The disease has deprived me of the "normal" life that others enjoy in their 20's-30's -- so the sooner you get on top of the disease, the better.

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8. 8. Catherine 01:59 PM 8/16/09

   WIld Alice at WIld Alice Bars celebrates gluten-free goodness on www.wildalicebar.com. A box of eight costs $16 + $5 s & h. Two flavors: cranberry walnut and apricot cashew. Take them with you! as a meal substitute, energy bar, or hot cereal when crumbled in hot water. Yummy!
   
   

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