E. Franceschini

Comparison of Diagnostic Performance of the IgA Anti-tTG Test vs IgA Anti–Native Gliadin Antibodies Test in Detection of Celiac Disease in the General Population

Celiac disease (CD) is a systemic autoimmune disorder, characterized by a small intestine enteropathy, caused by the ingestion of glutencontaining cereals (wheat, rye, and barley) in genetically predisposed individuals. Almost 1% of the population in Europe and North America has CD. In recent years, population screening studies documented an increase in the prevalence of CD. However, the contribution to this rising prevalence of an increased sensitivity of the diagnostic algorithm, based on the determination of serum IgA class antitransglutaminase antibody (anti-tTG ab) nowadays and IgA anti–native gliadin antibodies (AGA) during the 1980s–1990s, has never been precisely estimated. The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance of IgA anti-tTG with that of IgA AGA in a population CD screening study.