doiSerbia

Frequency, severity and type of anemia in children with classical celiac disease

Radlović Nedeljko (Serbian Medical Society, Academy of Medical Sciences, Belgrade)
Leković Zoran (University Children’s Hospital, Belgrade + Faculty of Medicine, Belgrade)
Mladenović Marija (Valjevo Medical Centre, Valjevo)
Radlović Vladimir (University Children’s Hospital, Belgrade)
Vuletić Biljana (Kragujevac Clinical Center, Pediatric Clinic, Kragujevac + Faculty of Medical Sciences, Kragujevac)
Dučić Siniša (University Children’s Hospital, Belgrade + Faculty of Medicine, Belgrade)
Golubović Zoran (University Children’s Hospital, Belgrade + Faculty of Medicine, Belgrade)
Nikolić Dejan (University Children’s Hospital, Belgrade + Faculty of Medicine, Belgrade)
Mahmutović Meho (Novi Pazar General Hospital, Novi Pazar)
Petrović-Tepić Snežana (University of Banja Luka, School of Medicine, Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Introduction/Objective. Anemia is the most common extraintestinal manifestation of celiac disease (CD) in children. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency, severity and type of anemia in children with a classical CD, as well as the differences between anemic and non-anemic patients in their age, duration of illness, percentile body length or height, percentage of body weight (BW) deviation compared to ideal, and the degree of damage to the small intestine mucosa. Methods. The study was based on a sample of 90 children, 56 females and 34 males, ages 7–90 (18.23 Ѓ} 12.7) months with classical CD. The diagnosis of CD is based on the ESPGHAN criteria from 1990 and 2012, and of anemia on the 2011 WHO reference values. Results. Anemia was found in 47 (52.22%) patients, of which it was mild in 23 cases [hemoglobin (Hb) 100–109 g/L] and moderately severe in 24 (Hb 70–99 g/L), in 34 (72.34%) it was microcytic [mean cell volume (MCV) < 70 fl] and normocytic (MCV 70–87 fl) in 13 patients. Low serum iron levels (< 10.7 μmol/L) were found in 68 (75.56%), and hypoferritinemia (< 16 ng/ml) in 77 (85.56%) patients. Except for a greater deficit of BW in patients with anemia compared to those without anemia (-14.64 ± 9.60 vs. -8.56 ± 11.87%, p < 0.01), differences in other defined features were not significant. Conclusion. Mild or moderate iron deficiency anemia occurs in slightly more than half of children with a classical type CD. In anemic compared to non-anemic patients, there is a significantly higher BW deficit, while differences in other characteristics typical for this type of disease are not significant.

This article has been corrected. Link to the correction 10.2298/SARH1910649E