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Thank you to all those who responded to my email. In all I have received 32 responses.

The responses confirmed that people with CD are much more likely to suffer from other autoimmune diseases, and the consensus was that the longer CD went untreated the more likely you are to develop multiple autoimmune illnesses. However, once treatment by GF diet has started it seems that the chance is greatly reduced of acquiring any new autoimmune diseases. Often the diagnosis of one autoimmune disease led to the diagnosis of CD. In all of the responses CD appears to have preceded the onset of the other diseases.

Most people who responded had more than one form of autoimmune disease including combinations of CD, HD, Diabetes Type 1, endometriosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, hypothyroidism, Hasiamoto's Thyroiditis, Sjogren's Syndrome, scalp dermatitis, ankylosing spondylitis, Pernicious Amenia, Alopecia, Sarcoidosis, rosacea, eosinophilic gastroenteritis, Langherhans cell histiocytosis, fibromyalgia, Scleroderma.

Onset of the original disease can be caused by a traumatic event or an infection http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/digest/pubs/celiac/index.htm
 
One writer referred me to another forum:
http://forums.delphiforums.com/celiac/messages/?ctx=16

Valuable information about passing on genes:
Current theory is that the genes that predispose one to various autoimmune conditions cluster together on the DNA chain, which is 
passed from parent to child in clips. If you carry genes for say, Joint Hypermobility, CD, and Hashimoto's, your child might just get 
two of the three, because fate might have clipped your reproducing DNA in such a way as to exclude the third one. However, if you have a cluster of such genes and your child has been diagnosed with one autoimmune condition, that child may well have another one or several lurking in the background. How those genes are triggered into action is not well understood. 

There was a mix of responses from people who had children free from autoimmune diseases, and others who had autoimmune diseases of different types.

One writer recommended this book: "The Autoimmune Connection" by Rita Baron-Faust published by Contemporary Books: Chicago, IL 2003.  It explains which autoimmune diseases usually cluster together and what symptoms to look for in addition to great medical and support info.

I did receive a couple of enquiries as to why I was not GF after being diagnosed with DH. When I was diagnosed in 1990 with DH was aware of the link between CD and DH but was told that I couldn't have CD because I didnt have the symptoms - diarrhoea, unexplained weight loss etc. I thought that the only side effect of eating gluten was the DH so I treated it like an allergy, originally eliminating gluten altogether and then reintroducing it gradually. When I had DH flare-ups I reduced the gluten for a while. It was after reading that I could have CD without having any symptoms that I decided to pursue a CD diagnosis. My GP spoke to a Gastroenterologist who decided to do an endoscopy and diagnosed CD. 

In summary:
Whilst we as CD sufferers are more likely to have multiple autoimmune diseases, the adherence to a strict GF diet greatly reduces this risk. Our children are also more likely to have autoimmune diseases than other children but they still have more chance of being AI disease free. 

All this really means that screening for CD is vital especially for those who like me are asymptomatic and are developing other diseases while they go on being undiagnosed and untreated.

Hope this is useful for others.

Kind Regards,

Sandra Howlett

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