Latent celiac disease is diagnosed when you have inherited the genes forceliac diseasebut have not yet experienced any signs or symptoms of the autoimmune disorder.
The diagnosis of latent celiac disease is made whenblood testsare positive for the condition but a visual examination of your intestines reveals no damage to the villi that line the organ. As such, it is unlikesilent (subclinical) celiac diseasewhere there is a loss of villi but no symptoms.
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Latent celiac disease, also referred to as atypical celiac disease, is usually diagnosed under the following circumstances:
If diagnosed with latent celiac disease, your life will be little affected and you probably won’t need to change your diet at this stage. Your healthcare provider may want to schedule more frequent follow-ups simply to ensure that there is no progression or manifestations of the disease.
But that shouldn’t suggest, however, that you are entirely out of the woods.
How Latent Celiac Disease Can Affect You
In decades past, it was unusual for someone to be diagnosed with latent celiac disease.
According to the non-profit Celiac Disease Foundation, persons with a first-degree relative with celiac disease (such as a parent, child, or sibling) have a one in 10 chance of developing the condition.
If you decide to get tested and are diagnosed with latent celiac disease, you shouldn’t assume that you have nothing to worry about. Simply having the gene places you at greater risk of developing the disease at some stage. If this occurs, you may find yourself having to deal with not only celiac disease but other autoimmune disorders, as well.
According to recent research, people whodevelop the symptomatic celiac disease later in lifeare twice as likely to have other autoimmune disorders compared to those who develop symptoms in early childhood (34 percent versus 16.8 percent, respectively).The most common of these includeautoimmune thyroid disease,dermatitis herpetiformis, lymphocytic colitis,gluten ataxia, and autoimmune anemia.
Going Gluten-Free or Not
It is perfectly reasonable to take a watch-and-wait approach if you have been diagnosed with latent celiac disease. Starting a gluten-free diet is not without its challenges and maintaining one can be difficult if you feel no benefit one way or the other.
With that being said, there have been suggestions that starting a gluten-free diet (or, at the very least, decreasing gluten intake) may reduce the likelihood of disease progression. Other researchers endorse the use of gluten-free diets in all people with celiac disease irrespective of symptoms or disease classification.
6 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Admou B, Essaadouni L, Krati K, et al.Atypical celiac disease: from recognizing to managing.Gastroenterol Res Pract. 2012;2012:637187. doi:10.1155/2012/637187Celiac disease. US National Library of Medicine. January 2020.What is Celiac Disease?. Celiac Disease Foundation.Barton SH, Murray JA.Celiac disease and autoimmunity in the gut and elsewhere.Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2008;37(2):411-28, vii. doi:10.1016/j.gtc.2008.02.001Rostami nejad M, Hogg-kollars S, Ishaq S, Rostami K.Subclinical celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench. 2011;4(3):102-8.Caio G, Volta U, Sapone A, et al.Celiac disease: a comprehensive current review.BMC Med. 2019;17(1):142. doi:10.1186/s12916-019-1380-zAdditional ReadingBarton, S. and Murray, J. Celiac disease and autoimmunity in the gut and elsewhere.Gastroenterol Clin North Am.2008;37(2):411-17. DOI: 10.1016/j.gtc.2008.02.001.Celiac Disease Foundation.What is celiac disease?Woodland Hills, California; updated 2013.Nejad, M.; Hoggs-Kollars, S.; Ishaq, S. et al.Subclinical celiac diseaseand gluten sensitivity.Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench.2011;4(3):102-8.
6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Admou B, Essaadouni L, Krati K, et al.Atypical celiac disease: from recognizing to managing.Gastroenterol Res Pract. 2012;2012:637187. doi:10.1155/2012/637187Celiac disease. US National Library of Medicine. January 2020.What is Celiac Disease?. Celiac Disease Foundation.Barton SH, Murray JA.Celiac disease and autoimmunity in the gut and elsewhere.Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2008;37(2):411-28, vii. doi:10.1016/j.gtc.2008.02.001Rostami nejad M, Hogg-kollars S, Ishaq S, Rostami K.Subclinical celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench. 2011;4(3):102-8.Caio G, Volta U, Sapone A, et al.Celiac disease: a comprehensive current review.BMC Med. 2019;17(1):142. doi:10.1186/s12916-019-1380-zAdditional ReadingBarton, S. and Murray, J. Celiac disease and autoimmunity in the gut and elsewhere.Gastroenterol Clin North Am.2008;37(2):411-17. DOI: 10.1016/j.gtc.2008.02.001.Celiac Disease Foundation.What is celiac disease?Woodland Hills, California; updated 2013.Nejad, M.; Hoggs-Kollars, S.; Ishaq, S. et al.Subclinical celiac diseaseand gluten sensitivity.Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench.2011;4(3):102-8.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Admou B, Essaadouni L, Krati K, et al.Atypical celiac disease: from recognizing to managing.Gastroenterol Res Pract. 2012;2012:637187. doi:10.1155/2012/637187Celiac disease. US National Library of Medicine. January 2020.What is Celiac Disease?. Celiac Disease Foundation.Barton SH, Murray JA.Celiac disease and autoimmunity in the gut and elsewhere.Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2008;37(2):411-28, vii. doi:10.1016/j.gtc.2008.02.001Rostami nejad M, Hogg-kollars S, Ishaq S, Rostami K.Subclinical celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench. 2011;4(3):102-8.Caio G, Volta U, Sapone A, et al.Celiac disease: a comprehensive current review.BMC Med. 2019;17(1):142. doi:10.1186/s12916-019-1380-z
Admou B, Essaadouni L, Krati K, et al.Atypical celiac disease: from recognizing to managing.Gastroenterol Res Pract. 2012;2012:637187. doi:10.1155/2012/637187
Celiac disease. US National Library of Medicine. January 2020.
What is Celiac Disease?. Celiac Disease Foundation.
Barton SH, Murray JA.Celiac disease and autoimmunity in the gut and elsewhere.Gastroenterol Clin North Am. 2008;37(2):411-28, vii. doi:10.1016/j.gtc.2008.02.001
Rostami nejad M, Hogg-kollars S, Ishaq S, Rostami K.Subclinical celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench. 2011;4(3):102-8.
Caio G, Volta U, Sapone A, et al.Celiac disease: a comprehensive current review.BMC Med. 2019;17(1):142. doi:10.1186/s12916-019-1380-z
Barton, S. and Murray, J. Celiac disease and autoimmunity in the gut and elsewhere.Gastroenterol Clin North Am.2008;37(2):411-17. DOI: 10.1016/j.gtc.2008.02.001.Celiac Disease Foundation.What is celiac disease?Woodland Hills, California; updated 2013.Nejad, M.; Hoggs-Kollars, S.; Ishaq, S. et al.Subclinical celiac diseaseand gluten sensitivity.Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench.2011;4(3):102-8.
Barton, S. and Murray, J. Celiac disease and autoimmunity in the gut and elsewhere.Gastroenterol Clin North Am.2008;37(2):411-17. DOI: 10.1016/j.gtc.2008.02.001.
Celiac Disease Foundation.What is celiac disease?Woodland Hills, California; updated 2013.
Nejad, M.; Hoggs-Kollars, S.; Ishaq, S. et al.Subclinical celiac diseaseand gluten sensitivity.Gastroenterol Hepatol Bed Bench.2011;4(3):102-8.
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