Gluten-Free Diet Has No Effect on Depression, Insomnia in CD Patients

Patients with celiac disease (CD) do not face an increased risk of depression or sleep difficulty, a recent study showed. However, patients without CD who follow a gluten-free diet may have a lower risk of depression.

Little data exists on the prevalence of psychiatric illnesses among patients with CD and people who avoid gluten (PWAG) without a CD diagnosis.
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RELATED CONTENT
Early Life GI Infections May Raise Risk of Celiac Disease Later
USPSTF Issues Recommendations for Celiac Disease Screening
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

A total of 22,274 patients were assessed, using data from the 2009-2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The researchers compared prevalence of depression, insomnia, quality-of-life variables, and psychotropic medication use among CD and PWAG participants with that of a control group.

Results of the analysis showed that 8.2% of participants in the control group had depression, compared with 3.9% of CD participants and 2.9% of PWAG participants. After adjusting for age, sex, race, income, and access to healthcare, PWAG participants demonstrated a lower risk of depression vs the control group.

The researchers estimated that 27.3% of participants in the control group had sleep difficulty, compared with 37.7% of CD participants and 34.1% of PWAG participants. Although participants with diagnosed CD showed an increased risk of sleep difficulty, multivariable adjustment indicated it was no longer significant.

“Among a nationally representative US sample, participants with CD overall showed no increased odds of depression or sleep difficulty,” the researchers concluded. “PWAGs showed lower odds of depression compared with controls. Future research should investigate the relationship between a diagnosis of CD and the development of psychiatric conditions.”

—Christina Vogt

Reference:

Zylberberg HM, Demmer RT, Murray JA, Green PHR, Lebwohl B. Depression and insomnia among individuals with celiac disease or on a gluten-free diet in the USA: results from a national survey [Published online June 2017]. Eur J Gastroenterol Hepatol. doi:10.1097/MEG.0000000000000932.