SAT-225 - Celiac Disease Among Children with Short Stature: Prevalence, Clinical Features, and Laboratory Findings from A Multicenter Cohort

Objective
This study aimed to evaluate the demographic, clinical, and laboratory characteristics of children presenting with short stature who were diagnosed with celiac disease and to compare these findings with those of children with short stature without celiac disease.
Materials and Methods
Patient data were retrospectively obtained from pediatric endocrinology outpatient clinics of four university hospitals over the past 10 years using the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) diagnostic codes. Patients who underwent celiac serological screening, including tissue transglutaminase immunoglobulin A (tTG-IgA) and anti-endomysial IgA (EMA-IgA) antibody testing, were eligible for inclusion. Patients with missing clinical data or without available celiac serology results were excluded.
Demographic characteristics, auxological measurements, physical examination findings, pubertal status, laboratory parameters (complete blood count, insulin-like growth factor-1 [IGF-1], and thyroid function tests), and bone age were recorded . Patients with positive celiac serology constituted the study group, whereas seronegative patients served as the control group. Data were expressed as percentages (n, %) and mean ± standard deviation (SD).
Results
A total of 8,438 children were evaluated for short stature across the four centers. Of these, 73 patients (0.86%) had positive celiac serology, and 46 patients (0.54%) had biopsy findings compatible with celiac disease. From one participating center, 1,472 patients with complete clinical data and available celiac serology were identified as potential controls, of whom 484 seronegative patients met inclusion criteria and were included in the final analysis.
The proportion of females was significantly higher in the serology-positive group compared with the control group (65.8% [n = 48] vs. 47.5% [n = 230], p = 0.004). Mean age did not differ significantly between groups (9.79 ± 4.11 vs. 10.08 ± 4.28 years, p = 0.350). Mean height SDS was significantly higher (less impaired) in the serology-positive group compared with controls (–2.04 ± 1.03 vs. –2.54 ± 0.70, p < 0.001). Mean bone age was similar between groups (7.91 ± 3.61 vs. 8.64 ± 4.21 years, p = 0.134). Growth velocity was lower in serology-positive patients compared with controls (4.94 ± 2.20 vs. 5.79 ± 2.75 cm/year, p = 0.042). Hemoglobin levels were significantly lower in the serology-positive group (12.34 ± 1.43 vs. 12.73 ± 1.53 g/dL, p < 0.001), as were IGF-1 SDS values (–1.56 ± 0.90 vs. –1.09 ± 1.11, p < 0.001).
Conclusion
The prevalence of positive celiac serology among children presenting with short stature was 0.86%. Children with celiac disease exhibited significantly lower hemoglobin and IGF-1 levels compared with other children with short stature, highlighting the importance of systematic celiac screening in this population.

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