JPSIM Journal of Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine J Pak Soc Intern Med 2709-8729 2710-0804 Pakistan Society of Internal Medicine 10.70302/jpsim.v6i3.2547 jpsim.v6i3.2547 Original Research Frequency of Celiac Disease in Adult Patients Presenting with Iron Deficiency Anemia Bano Shaheen shaheenkhan7102@gmail.com * Pasha Abdul Rehman Javad Fatima Rauf Hafiz Abdul Khan Fahad Aman Shafi Nazish Gulab Devi Hospital Lahore *Correspondence: Shaheen Bano (shaheenkhan7102@gmail.com) 23 08 2025 2025 6 3 253 258 18 02 2025 27 02 2025 18 07 2025 Copyright © 2025 The Author(s) 2025 The Author(s) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Objective

To determine the prevalence of celiac disease in adult patients with iron deficiency anemia and identify any potential clinical and laboratory markers associated with the condition.

 Methodology

This cross-sectional observational study was conducted at Gulab Devi Hospital, Medicine Department, IPD (Indoor Patient Department) during September 2024 to march 2025. Data were collected from 160 patients including demographic information (age, gender, etc.), clinical symptoms, laboratory results, and the outcome of the serological tests for celiac disease.

 Results

Data were collected from 160 patients, with a mean age of 42.3 ± 15.8 years. Among the participants, 46.9% were male and 53.1% were female. The most common symptoms reported were fatigue (84.4%), pallor (75%), and weakness (68.8%). Abdominal discomfort, weight loss, and bloating were less frequent, occurring in 28.1%, 18.8%, and 21.9% of patients, respectively. Laboratory results showed a mean hemoglobin level of 9.2 ± 1.4 g/dL, serum ferritin of 9.4 ± 3.6 ng/mL, and transferrin saturation of 10.2% ± 4.7%, indicating severe iron deficiency.

 Conclusion

It is concluded that celiac disease is a significant but underdiagnosed cause of iron deficiency anemia in adults, with a prevalence of 7.5% in the studied cohort. Clinicians should consider screening for celiac disease in patients with unexplained IDA, particularly those who do not respond to iron supplementation.

 Keywords Patients Celiac disease Protein Iron IDA Prevalence Supplementation Ethics Statement

Ethics committee: Institutional Review Board, Al-Aleem Medical College, Lahore, Pakistan. Approval number: AAMC/IRB/EA-08-2025, dated February 10, 2025.

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