The Connection Between Celiac Disease and Infertility

Are you or anyone you know struggling with infertility?  Celiac disease is associated with infertility in both men and women. Clinically, women with celiac disease can also present with amenorrhea, delayed menarche (a delay in the onset of the first period) and menstrual irregularities, miscarriage, fewer live births, endometriosis, severe anemia during pregnancy and other pregnancy complications.^1,2,3,4  Celiac disease may initially present during pregnancy or post partum.^1,4  Celiac disease in men may also contribute to children born prematurely or with lower birthrates.  In pregnancy, celiac disease is associated with a high rate of miscarriage, delayed intrauterine growth, low birth weight and premature births.  "There is reasonably good evidence to suggest that the rate of adverse outcomes is reduced with early diagnosis and treatment with gluten free diet." "All women with unexplained infertility should be tested for celiac disease."⁴

Wishing you a happy, healthy, gluten-free day!

♥  michelle

¹ Farrell RJ, Kelly CP. Celiac Sprue.  N Engl J Med. 2002 Jan 17;346(3):180-8.

2 Bai J, Zeballos E, Fried M, Corazza GR, Schuppan D, Farthing MJG, Catassi C, Greco L, Cohen H, Krabshuis

3 Stephansson O, Falconer H, Ludvigsson JF. Risk of endometriosis in 11,000 women with celiac disease. Hum Reprod. 2011 Oct;26(10):2896-901. Epub 2011 Aug 12.

4  Shah S, Leffler D. Celiac disease: an underappreciated issue in women’s health. Womens Health (Lond Engl). 2010 Sep;6(5):753-66.