Celiac Disease Genes

I started this blog with the intention of educating as many people as I could on Celiac disease and its diet that follows.  Today I will just focus on the gene. I will list some facts that many people do not know. There are many cases where the disease runs through a whole family, and others that there is just one case, and no one knows where it came from. 

1.  Celiac is a genetic disease.  This means you either have the HLA-DQ2 or the HLA-DQ8 gene.  You get this gene from a parent even though they may not have Celiac disease.  So before you go through any testing a simple blood test will determine if you have the gene. 
2. 95% of the people with Celiac have the HLA-DQ2 gene were as only 5% have the HLA-DQ8 gene.

3. If you have the gene, this does not mean you have the disease, it just means you are at risk of developing the disease.  You need to watch for any symptoms and do routine blood work to assess for any onset of the disease.

4.  Many people can go their whole life as a carrier and not develop Celiac, but can pass it to their children.

5.  Thirty to 40% of people in the United States have one or both of the genes HLA-DQ2 or DQ8.  Only about 3% of these people will actually develop the disease.

6. The cost of this test may or may not be covered, it all depends on your insurance.  This may be a factor in having the test performed.