The Coeliac Society of Ireland have issued an appeal to all medical professionals to be more cognisant of testing for coeliac disease particularly in relation to women at menopause.
“Recent research shows that two in every 100 people have coeliac disease. Most cases of coeliac disease are missed due to a lack of testing but significantly reports from the recent International Coeliac Disease Symposium show that women are even less likely to be diagnosed around menopause. There are lots of changes in a woman’s body at menopause. Both women and their doctors might not realise that some of these changes could be due to or exaggerated by undiagnosed coeliac disease and not menopause.
“There are significant concerns around this issue and the Coeliac Society is calling on the medical profession to “Think Coeliac” for all individuals presenting with symptoms but particularly in women at menopause as well as at other times in life. Women are twice as likely to get coeliac disease as men - and rates are far higher than previously thought. Therefore, doctors need to have a lower threshold for thinking about, and testing for, coeliac disease,” Sarah Keogh, Coeliac Society Dietitian and Nutritionist (MSc. BSc. Dip. MINDI ), said.
According to the society it is widely recognised that women lose a lot of their bone strength at menopause and untreated coeliac disease can make this worse.
”Osteoporosis is more than just a broken bone. It causes significant chronic pain in many people and, according to the Irish Osteoporosis Association, 20% of people over 60 who break their hip are dead within six months. It is essential that we are finding people with coeliac disease at all ages but, at menopause, women and their doctors need to be on high alert. Symptoms to look out for include bloating, diarrhoea, constipation, abdominal pain, belching, excess gas and heartburn. However, up to 40% of patients may not have gut symptoms. Look out for low levels of Iron, Vitamin D, B12 or Folate as well as fatigue, pins and needles in fingers, brain fog and skin rashes,” Sarah added.
The Coeliac Society also recently launched their Christmas Hub in partnership with Dunnes Stores, where people suffering from Coeliac disease and sever gluten intolerance can find more information and practical advice from health and nutrition experts, as well as important tips, tasty recipes, and cook-along videos from top chefs, and helpful hints about staying healthy over the festive season.
Most importantly, there is clear information on how to prepare food in a safe manner to avoid cross-contamination of food with gluten – allowing everyone to cater for guests who have to live and thrive gluten free. www.coeliac.ie/christmas-hub/
