<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Don Wiss sent me the following statistical information about symptoms
reported by biopsy-proven celiacs before diagnosis.

Below that, you will find the list of diagnoses made before the celiac
diagnosis was made. There seems to be enough interest in this question to
justify posting Wiss' reply to me, though some may have seen it already and
this does violate the dicta against forwarding responses directly to the
list. I hope nobody minds.

Mary Brown New York


>Here's a survey that mentions headaches. It says 21.3%. Don.
>
>The following is part of a Canadian Celiac Association survey where 1294
>questionnaires (out of 1937 sent) were returned (82% biopsy proven). It
>lists various symptoms and misdiagnoses for celiac disease.
>
>(1) When asked how many doctors they had consulted about their problem, 25%
>of 960 biopsy-proven respondents said one doctor, 29% two doctors, 17%
>three doctors, 12% four doctors, 6% five doctors, 6% six to 10 doctors, and
>3% more than 10 doctors.
>
>(2) Duration of symptoms experienced by biopsy-proven respondents before
>diagnosis of celiac disease:
>
>                                      Std    Range*             Respondent
>                    Median   Mean     Dev   Maximum   No. of     Pct. of
>Symptom             (years) (years) (years) (years) Respondents  960 Total
>-------             ------- ------- ------- ------- ----------- ----------
>Diarrhea              1.9     6.6    11.7     75        774        80.6%
>Abdominal pain        2.0     8.0    12.4     65        583        60.7
>Gas or belching       2.5     8.4    13.0     74        629        65.5
>Fatigue or lethargy   2.0     7.9    12.6     79        688        71.7
>Bloating              2.0     7.9    12.4     79        770        80.2
>Nausea or vomiting    1.0     5.8    10.9     65        334        34.8
>Lack of appetite      1.0     6.2    12.7     70        330        34.4
>Skin rash (DH)        4.0    10.3    13.0     57        155        16.1
>Headache or migraine 10.0    13.9    13.9     62        204        21.3
>
>* minimum range is one month for all symptoms
>
>(3) Diagnoses of diseases made before celiac disease was diagnosed:
>
>                              Respondents (%)
>                       Biopsy Proven   Not Biopsy Proven
>Diagnosis                 (N=686)           (N=145)
>---------              -------------   -----------------
>Anemia                      47%               30%
>Stress                      45                39
>Nervous condition           41                39
>Irritable bowel             34                43
>Stomach ulcer               23                14
>Food allergy                19                32
>Colitis                     13                23
>Menstrual problems          13                17
>Edema                        9                 8
>Gallstones                   9                10
>Diverticulitis               6                 9
>Dermatitis Herpetiformis     4                 5
>Other                       36                39
>
>More complete results were published in their Spring 1993 newsletter.
>Reprints available from:
>
> Canadian Celiac Association
> 6519B Mississauga Road
> Mississauga, Ontario L5N 1A6
>
> (905) 567-7195  (800-363-7296 in Canada)