Celiac Disease Seropositivity in Dilated Cardiomyopathy Patients and Correlation with Ejection Fraction

Background: Recent evidence suggests a connection between celiac disease and dilated cardiomyopathy. Herein, we serologically screened for celiac in dilated cardiomyopathy patients and investigated its correlation with ejection fraction. Methods: We selected 123 cardiomyopathy patients. Patients were screened for celiac, using anti-tissue transglutaminase (ATA), anti-gliadin (AGA), and anti-endomysial (EMA) immunoglobulin type A (IgA) antibodies. Total IgA levels were also measured. Results: Of 123 patients, 3 were EMA positive (2.4%), 4 were AGA positive (3.3%) and 5 were ATA positive (4.1%). EMA positive patients had significantly lower EF values compared to EMA negative patients (35±5 vs. 46.52±9.21, p-value: 0.034). Similar results were observed for AGA (32.5±14.34 vs. 46.7±8.8, p-value: 0.002), but not for either ATA positivity (40±10 vs. 46.5±9.21, p-value: 0.126) or IgA deficiency (50±5 vs. 46.14±9.37, p-value: 0.480). No significant difference was observed in the age and gender of seropositive patients compared to seronegative. Conclusion: We observed a higher prevalence of celiac seropositivity among dilated cardiomyopathy patients compared to the general population. EMA and AGA positive patients had significantly lower ejection fractions compared to their negative counterparts.