High risk groups

The following groups are at high risk of having coeliac disease:

• first degree relatives - 5-11% chance of being affected
• second degree relatives – around 2.5%
• genetic susceptibility
  • genes encoding HLA DQ2
  • genes encoding HLA DQ8
• other autoimmune conditions
  • insulin-dependent diabetes - approximately 2-4% are affected by coeliac disease.
  • autoimmune thyroid disease - approximately 2-4% are affected by coeliac disease.
• increased incidence in patients with Down's syndrome.
• selective IgA deficiency - approximately 10% are affected by coeliac disease

Reference:

• (1) Mooney PD, Hadjivassiliou M, Sanders DS. Coeliac disease. BMJ. 2014;348:g1561