Poddighe D, Abdukhakimova D. Celiac Disease in Asia beyond the Middle East and Indian subcontinent: Epidemiological burden and diagnostic barriers. World J Gastroenterol 2021; 27(19): 2251-2256 [PMID: 34040319 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v27.i19.2251]
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03714260
Submitted on:
May 25, 2021, 05:18
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Reader Comments:
Poddighe and Abdukhakimova [1] have carried out the prevalence of celiac disease (CD) in Asian countries. In this study, researchers examined the prevalence of the disease in several selected countries such as China, Japan, Southeast Asia, Russia, and Central Asia. The conclusion of the researchers of this study was the underestimation of CD in Asian countries, especially in Russia and Central Asia.
Outside the Indian subcontinent and the Middle East, the epidemiological burden of celiac disease is underestimated in Asia, especially in Russia and Central Asia, where wheat is a staple food and its genetic potential is comparable to that of European countries. The reason for this finding is insufficient knowledge of physicians, limited access to diagnostic resources, inadequate interpretation of existing serological tests, and lack of diagnostic standards [2].
The results of this study are valuable, but mentioning a few points can improve the quality of this report.
First, there is no mention of a comprehensive study by Sing et al [3]. On the global epidemiology of CD. In this study, the global prevalence of the disease was estimated to be 1.4% based on anti-tissue transglutaminase and/or anti-endomysial antibodies and 0.7% based on biopsy-confirmed celiac disease. The prevalence of celiac disease was 0.4% in South America, 0.5% in Africa and North America, 0.6% in Asia, and 0.8% in Europe and Oceania. The prevalence was higher in women than in men (0.6 vs. 0.4; P <0.001). The prevalence of celiac disease in children was significantly higher than in adults (0.9 vs. 0.5; P <0.001).
The second point is that to estimate the burden of the disease in different countries, all the researches should be included, for example, in China and Japan, are the articles that are not written in English mentioned?
Given that the authors of this study are from Kazakhstan and that they correctly referred to studies published in Russia and Central Asia in languages other than English, the authors' conclusion of the CD in the Central Asian region can be trusted.
References
1 D P, D A. Celiac Disease in Asia beyond the Middle East and Indian subcontinent: Epidemiological burden and diagnostic barriers. World journal of gastroenterology 2021; 27(19): 2251-2256
2 Agarwal A, Chauhan A, Ahuja V, Makharia GK. Opportunities and challenges in the management of celiac disease in Asia. JGH Open 2020; 4(5): 795-799 [PMID: 33102747 DOI: 10.1002/jgh3.12381]
3 Singh P, Arora A, Strand TA, Leffler DA, Catassi C, Green PH, Kelly CP, Ahuja V, Makharia GK. Global Prevalence of Celiac Disease: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis. Clinical gastroenterology and hepatology : the official clinical practice journal of the American Gastroenterological Association 2018; 16(6): 823-836.e822 [PMID: 29551598 DOI: 10.1016/j.cgh.2017.06.037]
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