A study published in Gastroenterology claims the Northern United States has an elevated rate of celiac disease than the Southern United States.
Aynur Unalp-Arida, MD, of the Bethesda, Md.-based National Institutes of Health, led a study examining the occurrence rate of gluten-related diseases in the United States.
Researchers conducted a population-based study of 22,277 participants from 2009 through 2017 ages 6-years and older. The researchers identified celiac disease patients
Here's what they found.
1. Approximately 0.7 percent had celiac disease and 1.1 percent of participants avoided gluten without celiac disease.
2. Celiac disease was more common in individuals above 35–39 degrees North in the United States, than in those below 35 degrees.
3. Gluten avoidance was more common in individuals above latitudes of 40 degrees North or more, independent demographic factors and body mass index.
Researchers concluded, "In the U.S. population, a higher proportion of persons living at latitudes of 35º North or greater have celiac disease and/or avoid gluten than persons living south of this latitude, independent of race or ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or body mass index."