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Mental Disorders in Adolescents With Celiac Disease

Received Aug. 10, 2003; revision received Feb. 15, 2004; accepted March 10, 2004. From the Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Helsinki University Central Hospital; and the Department of Mental Health and Alcohol Research, National Public Health Institute, Helsinki, Finland. Address reprint requests to Dr. Pynnönen, Department of Adolescent Psychiatry, Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Helsinki University Central Hospital, P.O. Box 282, 00029 HUCH, Finland; paivi.pynnonen{at}hus.fi (e-mail).

A high prevalence of depressive symptoms, hypothetically related to serotonergic dysfunction, has been reported among adults with celiac disease. The authors used semistructured psychiatric interviews and symptom measurement scales to study mental disorders in 29 adolescents with celiac disease and 29 matched comparison subjects. Relative to the comparison subjects, the celiac disease patients had significantly higher lifetime prevalences of major depressive disorder (31% versus 7%) and disruptive behavior disorders (28% versus 3%). In most cases these disorders preceded the diagnosis of celiac disease and its treatment with a gluten-free diet. The prevalence of current mental disorders was similar in both groups. Celiac disease in adolescents is associated with an increased prevalence of depressive and disruptive behavioral disorders, particularly in the phase before diet treatment.

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