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CLINICAL REVIEW: Adam H Balen and Anthony J Rutherford Management of infertility BMJ 2007; 335: 608-611 [Full text]

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Unexplained infertility: Think of Undiagnosed Celiac disease

Shirwan A. Mirza, MD, FACP, FACE   (23 September 2007)

Unexplained infertility: Think of Undiagnosed Celiac disease 23 September 2007
Shirwan A. Mirza, MD, FACP, FACE, Chairman: Department of Medicine Auburn Memorial Hospital, Auburn, NY 13021 Send response to journal: Re: Unexplained infertility: Think of Undiagnosed Celiac disease	In their Clinical Review "Management of infertility", Balen AH et al do not mention celiac disease as a possible underlying cause of unexplained infertility. Several studies have shown a higher prevalence of celiac disease among infertile women (4% to 8%) compared with the general population (<1%). Gluten-free diet could be the only treatment needed in some women with unexplained infertility. Thus, all women with unexplained infertility should be screened for celiac disease before subjecting them to expensive and more invasive tests and interventions. References: 1. Jackson JE, Rosen M, McLean T, Moro J, Croughan M, Cedars MI. Prevalence of celiac disease in a cohort of women with unexplained infertility. Fertil Steril. 2007 Jul 25 2. Pellicano R, Astegiano M, Bruno M, Fagoonee S, Rizzetto M. Women and celiac disease: association with unexplained infertility. Minerva Med. 2007 Jun;98(3):217-9 Competing interests: None declared