Clinical features of chronic C virus hepatitis in patients with celiac disease

The association between celiac disease (CD) and several liver disorders has long been documented. About 40% of adult celiac patients have been reported to have mild to moderate hypertransaminasemia (up to five times the upper limit of normal) at the time of diagnosis of CD [1, 2]. In addition, CD has been found in roughly 10% of patients with unexplained hypertransaminasemia, and the majority of them have had their liver enzyme levels normalized after one year of following a strict gluten-free diet [3, 4]. In addition, an increased prevalence of primary biliary cirrhosis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, and autoimmune hepatitis among CD patients has been reported [5, 6]. CD might also be linked to very severe liver conditions such as end-stage liver failure and hepatocellular carcinoma [7]. There is also evidence, even contrasting reports, about the association of CD with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and fatty liver disease [8]. In contrast, no definitive evidence is available about the association between chronic hepatitis C (hepatitis C virus [HCV]) and CD. Fine et al. described a three-fold increase of CD prevalence among HCV patients compared to noninfected celiac individuals [9]. It has also been reported the activation of silent CD during the antiviral treatment for HCV with interferon-α and ribavirin, both alone and in combination [10]. Consequently, a routine serological screening for CD has been proposed in HCV patients before starting antiviral therapy. In case of HCV positivity, the achievement of the histological normalization of the intestinal mucosa after following a gluten-free diet has been advised before starting the therapy [10]. On the contrary, some recent prospective studies have not shown increased prevalence of CD among HCV patients and reported that the link between these two conditions is biased by the route of transmission [11, 12]. Among the 3,725 celiac patients included in the Italian Registry of the Complication of Celiac Disease, we identified 34 individuals (0.91%) that had an HCV chronic hepatitis at the time of diagnosis of CD. For the diagnosis of HCV, we considered the serological positivity of antiHCV antibodies. Some of the patients had the diagnosis made in the early 1980s, when the molecular tests for the detection of the viral antigens were not yet available. The demographic and clinical features of the patients with both CD and HCV with respect to those of patients with CD only are listed in Table 1. The prevalence of HCV among our celiac series is lower than the overall prevalence of HCV among the general population in Italy, matched for age and gender, which is estimated to be around 2% [13]. This finding does not support the hypothesis of a potential correlation between these two disorders. It has been assumed that antiviral therapy with INF-α and ribavirin may precipitate the onset of CD in susceptible individuals, promoting a Th1-specific response in the small intestine [14]. However, in our series, only 12 of the 34 celiac patients with HCV had antiviral therapy before CD diagnosis. Looking at our series, it seems more likely that an overall increased risk of CD in HCV patients exists, due to the predisposition for autoimmune diseases related to Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis (2009) 28:1267–1269 DOI 10.1007/s10096-009-0769-6