Gluten-free diet for celiac disease found to increase arsenic exposure in children

Children with newly diagnosed celiac disease have increased arsenic exposure shortly after transitioning to a gluten-free diet, according to a study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Nan Du, M.D., M.P.H., from Boston Children’s Hospital, and colleagues examined changes in urinary arsenic concentration between endoscopy and after six months on a gluten-free diet among children (aged 2 to 18 years) with elevated celiac serology. The analysis included 35 children with a biopsy diagnostic of celiac disease.

The researchers found that after six months of a gluten-free diet, there was a significant increase in the median urinary arsenic concentration (3.3 versus 13.6 µg/L). In regression models, after six months of a gluten-free diet, family history of celiac disease and Hispanic ethnicity were associated with having a higher urinary arsenic concentration.

“Although children with newly diagnosed celiac disease had significantly increased urinary arsenic levels six months after transitioning to a gluten-free diet, measured levels were well below the threshold deemed toxic for acute exposure,” the authors write.

“The clinical effects of chronic exposure to arsenic levels of the magnitude seen in this study remain to be determined. The increase in arsenic levels observed in this cohort was likely driven by increased consumption of rice on a gluten-free diet.”

One author disclosed ties to pharmaceutical companies.

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