Association of Anti-gliadin Antibodies IgA with Celiac Disease in Karbala Province

Background: Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic autoimmune illness that primarily affects the small intestine and is caused by gluten intake. The CD generates a wide variety of symptoms and problems that can affect many organs other than the gastrointestinal system. Methods: A case-control study was conducted at Al-Hussein Medical City in Karbala, and it included information about changes in some immunological markers in CD patients. The study comprised 50 apparently healthy controls and 50 patients. Statistical analyses were conducted using the independent t-test. Correlation between patients was determined using the Pearson method. ROC curve analysis was performed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of immunological parameters in differentiating patients from controls. Results: The current study found a significant distribution (P ≤ 0.01) of CD patients and controls according to age, sex, and body mass index (BMI). There was a significant increase (P≤0.01) in AGA-IgA, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10 in the patient group compared with the control. Results of correlation showed a positive significant correlation between AGA-IgA and IL-10 and between IL-10 and TNF-α, while there was a negative significant correlation between AGA-IgA and TNF-α and between IL-10 and IL-6 in CD patients (P ≤ 0.01). The ROC curve analysis revealed that AGA-IgA, TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10 demonstrated excellent diagnostic performance. Conclusions: Patients with CD showed significantly greater levels of anti-gliadin IgA, TNF-α, and IL-6 compared to apparently healthy controls, indicating increased immune activation and intestinal inflammation. Although IL-10 levels were high, this might be a compensatory, anti-inflammatory response to persistent mucosal damage