Studies liver fat buildup in children with celiac disease
Observes fatty liver disease in children with celiac disease, including gluten-free diet effects.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Liver Steatosis in Pediatric CD Patients
Key facts
- Where
- Palermo, ItalySee the 2 sites
Could this be for you?
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 1 and 14 years old?
Source: NCT06206616, who can take part
Where in Italy
- Gastroenterological Paediatrics, Children's Hospital "G. Di Cristina"Palermo, ItalyTaking people
- General Pediatrics Unit, Children's Hospital "G. Di Cristina"Palermo, ItalyTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- University of Palermo
- Trial code
- NCT06206616
- Record updated
- 1 May 2026
- Original description
Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune enteropathy triggered by the intake of gluten, characterized by a genetic predisposition. Although, CD is often associated with malabsorption symptoms, a growing number of affected subjects are overweight or frankly obese. One of the conditions that is most frequently detected in pauci/asymptomatic subjects is an increase in transaminases, which often regresses completely after the start of GFD.Read full original descriptionShow less
Liver Steatosis in Pediatric Celiac Disease Patients: Exploring the Epidemiological and Pathophysiological Features of an Underestimated Condition
Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune enteropathy triggered by the intake of gluten, characterized by a genetic predisposition. Although, CD is often associated with malabsorption symptoms, a growing number of affected subjects are overweight or frankly obese. One of the conditions that is most frequently detected in pauci/asymptomatic subjects is an increase in transaminases, which often regresses completely after the start of GFD.
More recently, a specific liver disorder has shown a certain relevance in adult patients suffering from CD, so much so that the European Society for the Study of Coeliac Disease (ESsCD) has cited it among the possible comorbidities which should be screened in CD subjects: Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD).
In adults, a non-random association between CD and NAFLD has been demonstrated, showing a CD prevalence rate of 2-14% among patients with NAFLD. Few studies have focused on this same aspect in pediatric age, reporting contrasting data.
Several factors have been advocated as putative responsible of association between CD and NAFLD: dietary imbalances, intestinal mucosa permeability impairment, alterations of the intestinal microbiota.
The objectives of this study are:
1. define, retrospectively, the prevalence of NAFLD in a pediatric population affected by CD and study its possible association with GFD. 2. define the possible role of the intestinal permeability alteration and/or the intestinal mucosa damage and/or the proinflammatory status in the development of NAFLD in children affected by CD.
Inclusion: Age >1 and <14 years; Celiac Disease diagnosis according European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition (ESPGHAN) criteria.
Exclusion: patients undergoing chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy; bacterial and/or parasitic infections; diagnosis of chronic inflammatory intestinal diseases and other organic pathologies affecting the digestive system (for example, serious liver diseases), nervous system diseases, immunological deficits and impairments that limit physical activity; diagnosis of cancer; age <1 and >14 years; self-exclusion of gluten/wheat from the diet and refusal to reintroduce it, for diagnostic purposes, before entering the study.