IBS vs Celiac Disease Webinar
Written by: CDHF
Updated: June 20th, 2023
Do you have IBS and wonder if Celiac Disease could overlap with it? Both diseases experience similar symptoms such as; abdominal pain, bloating, diarrhea and constipation. Join Celiac Canada’s consulting Registered Dietitian, Nicole Byrom, and Nishaat Patel, RD, from the Canadian Digestive Health Foundation (CDHF) to learn more about IBS vs Celiac Disease by watching the webinar below.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
- Functional gut disorder
- Associated with gut dysmotility, brain-gut dysfunction and visceral hypersensitivity
- No clear consensus on exact causes, but associated with gut sensitivity (visceral hypersensitivity) , altered gut motility, bacterial/infectious, genetics etc.
Signs and Symptoms of IBS:
- Abdominal pain and cramping, often alleviated by bowel movements: Can be sharp, stabbing, dull, crampy
- Bloating/Distention
- Gas/Flatulence
- Change in bowel habits: Diarrhea, constipation, both, feeling of straining or incomplete evacuation of stool
- Mucus in stool
- Fatigue
- Associated with stress, depression, anxiety
Testing and Diagnosing IBS
- No one test to diagnose IBS
- Can often be a combination of tests by doctor or NP such as blood tests, stool tests, colonoscopy and gastroscopy (unreliable tests are IgG tests, breath testing and fecal microbiota testing)
- Exclusion of other conditions: Celiac disease, infections, IBD (Crohn’s, Colitis), gallbladder disease, diverticular disease, SIBO, gastritis, hypo or hyperthyroidism, etc.
- Investigation of red flags: Anemia, blood in stool, unintentional weight loss, fever, daily diarrhea, nocturnal diarrhea, family history of bowel disease
- Rome IV Diagnostic Criteria: Abdominal pain at least 1 day per week in last 3 months, associated with 2 or more of the following:
- 1.Related to defecation
- 2.Associated with a change in frequency of stool
- 3.Associated with a change in form (appearance) of stool
- IBS Subtypes
- IBS-C- Constipation dominant
- IBS-D- Diarrhea dominant
- IBS-Mixed constipation and diarrhea
- IBS-U – Unclassified
IBS vs Celiac Disease
What is Celiac Disease?
- It is an autoimmune disease where the immune system reacts against the protein gluten
- CD is not a form of food allergy.
- It is a condition in which the absorptive surface of the small intestine is damaged by gluten
- Gluten is a group of proteins present in wheat, rye and barley and their cross bred grains.
Classic Symptoms of Celiac Disease
- Abdominal distension
- Abdominal pain
- Chronic diarrhea
- Anorexia
- Irritability
- Weight loss (or failure to thrive in children)
- Muscle wasting
- Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH)
Non Classic Symptoms of Celiac Disease
- Unexplained iron or folate deficiency anemia (9% of those tested have CD)
- Oral canker sores
- Dental enamel defects
- Persistent/recurrent vomiting
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Chronic constipation
- Abnormal liver enzymes (ALT/AST)
- Arthritis, arthralgia
- Osteoporosis/Osteopenia
- Short stature
- Delayed puberty
- Infertility
The Challenge of Diagnosing Celiac Disease
- A 2021 study of 16,776 people found no significant difference in reported general or abdominal symptoms between two groups (CD verses non-CD)
- Furthermore, of the 173 who had celiac disease, 168 of those were diagnosed during the study
- This speaks to an underdiagnosis rate of 97%
- Recent evidence shows that classic GI symptoms are no longer the primary presentation of celiac disease
