Mortality and Causes of Death in Celiac Disease in a Mediterranean Area

No data on mortality in celiac disease arecurrently available in southern Europe. Our aim was toevaluate mortality and the cause of death in adultceliac disease in a Mediterranean area. In all, 228adults with celiac disease were histologicallydiagnosed in our department from 1980 to 1997. Fullinformation on their state of health was obtained in 216of 228 patients. A tabulation of patient-years at risk was constructed in terms of age at diagnosisand the interval from diagnosis. Standardized mortalityratio was calculated by dividing the number of observeddeaths by the number of expected deaths. Twelve deaths were observed, whereas 3.12 deaths wereexpected (SMR = 3.8; 95% CI 2-7). The increasedmortality was mainly observed within four years fromdiagnosis (8 observed; 1.4 expected) (SMR = 5.8; 95% CI 2.5-11.5). Twelve tumors were observed (sixlymphomas). In conclusion, mortality from adult celiacdisease in our geographical area is increased comparedwith the general population, and this increased risk seems due to non-Hodgkin'slymphoma.