Food Introduction and Its Implications on the Development of Celiac Disease in Childhood

Abstract

Abstract This study investigated the relationship between food introduction and celiac disease development. This bibliographic review was conducted from May to June 2023 and covered publications from 2013 to 2023. The Virtual Health Library (VHL) and PubMed databases were used, with the following search terms: “Celiac Disease,” “Gluten enteropathy” (with the Boolean operator “OR”), “Infant,” “Preschooler” (also using the Boolean operator “OR”) and “Food Introduction.” A total of 28 articles were found and, after careful analysis, only 6 met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. These articles addressed topics such as the relationship between dietary patterns and the risk of celiac disease, the prevalence of the disease in children born before and after the epidemic in Sweden, the feasibility of introducing allergens and their relationship with breastfeeding, and the implications of introducing gluten into the diet and early weaning in celiac disease. The results of the study highlight the importance of further research into this topic to develop possible methods of prevention and intervention in the manifestation process of celiac disease. From the bibliographic review, it was possible to identify the variables that imply the development of celiac disease and refute the hypotheses of the direct influence of the early introduction of gluten in the diet on the manifestation of the disease.

Keywords

• gluten enteropathy
• malabsorption syndrome
• gastrointestinal disease
• infant
• preschool