Using a standard method of determining risk factors for these cancers, Dr. Jonas Ludvigsson and his research team compared data from more than 17,000 women with confirmed celiac disease to that from about 88,000 women without the condition.

They found women with celiac were 15 percent, 40 percent and 11 percent less likely to develop breast cancer, endometrial and ovarian cancer respectively. What’s more, the decreased risk was greater when they excluded patients who were within their first year of diagnosis.

Ludvigsson told Allergic Living that one possible link between celiac disease and a reduced incidence of female cancers is a tendency among celiac patients to have a lower body mass index (BMI). Breast cancer, in particular, has been associated with obesity and a high BMI.

The expert suspects the decreased risk of ovarian cancer may be linked to early menopause in many women with celiac disease. Fewer ovulations in their lifetimes may be the reason.

Interestingly, the risk of lung cancer did not vary between celiac and non-celiac patients in this research. This is likely “because the smoking pattern of Swedish women does not seem to differ between celiac women and non-celiac women,” says Ludvigsson. More studies of celiac and cancer are planned.

First published in Allergic Living magazine.
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After studies in Europe showed a link between celiac disease and a high prevalence of migraine headaches, Dr. Alexandra Dimitrova, a neurological resident at Columbia University Medical Center, under the supervision of Dr. Peter Green from the Celiac Disease Center at that university, decided to investigate whether the same held true in the U.S. The researchers found that 30 per cent of the patients they studied with celiac disease reported chronic migraines (14 or more per month).

For the study, the researchers analyzed the intensity and frequency of headaches of 502 people with celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, irritable bowel disease, as well as a control group. They also looked at daily habits, such as coffee and alcohol consumption. Those with celiac disease reported the most frequent and intense migraines.

Since it often takes many years before someone is diagnosed with celiac disease, the presence of migraines could be a clue: “I would test any patient not responsive to appropriate migraine medical therapy administered by a neurologist,” says Dimitrova.

The good news is that both the European and U.S. research suggests that a gluten-free diet can reduce the number and severity of migraines. More work needs to be done, says Dimitrova, including a study in which diet and eating habits are looked at in-depth to determine the impact on migraines.

Researchers looked at 27 adults who were newly diagnosed with celiac disease, and 27 adults without the disease. In those with celiac, 10 had thyroid disease, compared to three in the non-celiac group.

However, a year later, the thyroid disease had progressed in the celiac group, despite adherence to the gluten-free diet.

More studies are anticipated in relation to this disease connection.