An Italian prospective multicenter survey on patients suspected of having non-celiac gluten sensitivity

By: Peter Olins, PhD on June 18, 2014.

This is the most extensive study of non-celiac gluten sensitivity published so far, and lends further support that this is a real phenomenon. Patients attending 38 Italian ‘Gluten-Related Disorders’ clinical centers were surveyed for self-reported gluten sensitivity (defined as physical symptoms alleviated on a gluten-free diet, and returning after consuming gluten). It is not possible to estimate the overall prevalence of NCGS in the general population, since these patients were already suspected of having a gluten-related disorder. The study was also not “blinded”, so there is a significant chance that some of these patients may have had a ‘nocebo’ effect (i.e. a negative response resulting from a psychological expectation, rather than a true effect).

Journal Article: Volta U, et al.

Published in: BMC Medicine 2014, 12:85 doi:10.1186/1741-7015-12-85

Read more → An Italian prospective multicenter survey on patients suspected of having non-celiac gluten sensitivity