DOI: 10.38053/acmj.2004530 ISSN: 2718-0115

Registered period prevalence of celiac disease in Turkiye, 2019–2024: regional and age-specific distribution and the diagnostic gap

Emine Zahide Özdemir, Murat Bektaş, Tuğba Özdemir, Bilge Özdemir, Ferdane Pirinççi Sapmaz, İsmail Tamer, Ecir Uğur Küçüksille
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Aims: To estimate the registered period prevalence of celiac disease in Turkiye during 2019-2024, describe regional and agespecific patterns, and compare registry-based estimates with screening-based prevalence.Methods: This nationwide, registry-based descriptive study used a full-census design. Individuals with an ICD-10 K90.0 diagnosis in the Ministry of Health electronic health registry were identified and deduplicated using encrypted national identifiers. Turkish Statistical Institute population data were used as denominators. Because diagnoses accumulated over six years, estimates represent period prevalence. Prevalence was calculated for all records and separately for confirmed (main) diagnoses; no inferential testing was performed.Results: Among 98.028 patients, 41.125 (41.95%) were children and 56.903 (58.05%) adults; 63.74% of pediatric and 60.78% of adult patients had confirmed diagnoses. Registered period prevalence per 100.000 population was 113.9 overall and 70.6 for confirmed records. Corresponding estimates were 181.4 and 115.6 in children and 89.7 and 54.5 in adults. Registered case rates varied more than twofold across regions of care, with the highest rate in Central Anatolia and the lowest in the Black Sea region. Laboratory panel coverage ranged from 6.95% to 93.31%, and abnormality rates varied substantially according to the denominator used.Conclusion: Registered prevalence was higher in children than adults and was roughly one-tenth of screening-based estimates (about 1%); differences in period, coverage and case definition preclude direct quantification of the gap. Variation in regional registered case rates and the substantial reduction in cases when only confirmed diagnoses were included may reflect incomplete case detection and inconsistent diagnostic coding.

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