Abstract
Objective: To explore the clinical profile (age of diagnosis, mode of presentations, and the diagnosis method) of celiac participants and to determine the incidence of the extra-intestinal manifestations. Methodology: A cross-sectional study of all participants diagnosed with celiac disease in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). An online questionnaire was sent to celiac disease participants via a well-known social media group. Responses were collected from 28 February 2017 until 8 July 2017. The target population of this study includes all celiac disease participants who live in KSA. To be representative, the required sample size was estimated as 384 responses. A study was conducted using an online questionnaire. Data were analyzed using google forms and SPSS. Results: Six-hundred-silty-nine responses were received. Most (56.2%) of the participants were between 18- and 50-years-old. Fifteen percent of participants had Diabetes mellitus type 1, and 13% have thyroiditis. The most common symptoms among the participants were abdominal pain (56%), weight loss (45.2%), and diarrhea (37.8%). Endoscopy was the most used mode of diagnosis in our cohort (81%). Almost half (48.4%) of the participants are anemic. We found that 47.2% of participants have joints pain, 8.9% have been diagnosed with arthritis and 14.8% have osteoporosis. Ten percent of the sample has increased liver enzymes, and 2% have been diagnosed with hepatitis. Conclusion: We found that the most common symptoms of celiac sufferers in KSA are abdominal pain, abdominal bloating, and weight loss. Almost half of the participants were anemic. Osteoporosis is the second most common extra-intestinal manifestation.