New NICE Clinical Guideline on Coeliac Disease
A new short clinical guideline from the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) on the recognition and diagnosis of coeliac disease is due to be launched in May 2009. Stakeholder meetings have been held and Coeliac UK has also been involved in the development of this guideline.
In the UK the estimated incidence of coeliac disease is 1% of the general population. However, a recent research paper suggests only 1 in 8 individuals with coeliac disease are actually diagnosed1demonstrating that it is hugely underdiagnosed. A wide spectrum of clinical symptoms, as well as misdiagnosis with other conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), may be contributory factors to underdiagnosis. In fact, in a recent NICE Clinical Guideline on IBS, it is recommended that a diagnosis of coeliac disease is excluded prior to a diagnosis of IBS being confirmed.
References
1. West J & van Heel D. Recent advances in coeliac disease. Gut 2006;55:1037-1046
Click here to read more on the NICE Clinical Guideline on IBS