Affiliations: [a] Department of Internal Medicine and Rheumatology Unit, Perugia University School of Medicine, Didactic and Scientific District of Terni, “Santa Maria” General Hospital, Via T. Di Joannuccio 1, 05100 Terni (TR), Italy. e-mail: [email protected]
| [b] Department of Dermatology, Perugia University School of Medicine, Didactic and Scientific District of Terni, “Santa Maria” General Hospital, Terni, Italy
Abstract: The literature published in the last decade has variously assessed the possible association between coeliac disease (CD) and other chronic inflammatory autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and psoriasis (Ps). This study included a total of 93 patients (15 with RA, 27 with PsA and 51 with Ps). None from the group with RA and PsA were positive to the test, while 3 of the patients belonging to the group with Ps tested positive. All three underwent intestinal biopsy, which confirmed the presence of CD. Our data revealed a higher prevalence of CD in patients with Ps compared to the general population: 3:51 patients (5.88%) vs. 1:184 resident (0.54%). It can be affirmed that screening for CD is not routinely recommended for patients suffering from RA and PsA.
