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Celiac disease testing can provide answers

Category: General Wellness

Though many people may think celiac disease is mainly a digestive disorder, there are serious consequences for a person who lives without the condition being diagnosed.

If allowed to fester in a person's system, the disease can lead to symptoms of joint pain as well as osteoporosis.

Kelly Oram, a resident of While Plains, New York, has reportedly broken more than 10 bones and has experienced chronic stomach problems for most of his life, the New York Times reports. However, he was never given a celiac disease test to see if he was one of the many people suffering from the under-diagnosed condition.

Oram, who is in his early 40s, finally discovered his ailment when a doctor, who was treating him for a neck injury at the time, decided to administer the test.

As expected, Oram suffered from celiac disease, which is an immune disorder that becomes symptomatic when a person eats foods containing gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barely.

Dr Joseph A. Murray, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, told the Times that 1 out of 100 people in the U.S. suffers from the condition, but few realize they have the disease.