Celiac disease: Gluten intolerance makes it difficult to have children

Christiane Fux studied journalism and psychology in Hamburg. The experienced medical editor has been writing magazine articles, news and factual texts on all conceivable health topics since 2001. In addition to her work for, Christiane Fux is also active in prose. Her first crime novel was published in 2012, and she also writes, designs and publishes her own crime plays.

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MunichIf a woman does not get pregnant for at first inexplicable reasons, celiac disease may be behind it. Miscarriages and premature births can also be the result of an intolerance to the cereal adhesive gluten. This is even true of women who do not experience any symptoms and do not even know that they have celiac disease.

Infertility and miscarriages

This is the conclusion Chiara Tersigni of the Catholic University in Rome and her colleagues came to when they evaluated the results of 24 studies. It found that women with celiac disease are five times more likely to become infertile than women without the food intolerance. Your risk of repeated miscarriages is six times higher. The risk that the child will not grow properly in the womb increases eightfold with celiac disease.

One possible reason for the connection is that antibodies also act against the adhesive protein of the blastomere, which a fertilized egg cell develops into within a few days. This can lead to the death of the womb.

Another problem is that the body of celiac patients increasingly produces antibodies against the endomysium. This is a protective layer that surrounds the muscle fibers. During pregnancy, however, these antibodies also attack the blood vessels that form in the placenta. As a result, the growing child is poorly cared for.

Eat gluten-free

The scientists recommend that young women who for some unknown reason do not become pregnant should be tested for celiac disease. A gluten-free diet could significantly increase their chances of conceiving and a healthy growing child.

Celiac disease is not uncommon. According to the German Society for Celiac Disease, one in 200 people in Germany suffers from gluten intolerance. Symptoms include diarrhea and abdominal cramps. In severe cases, the disease can lead to malnutrition. (cf)

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