Abstract
Objective: To determine the frequency of celiac disease (CD) in children with short stature presenting to the Children’s Hospital & the Institute of Child Health, Multan. Study Design: Descriptive cross sectional study Methods: The children with short stature (height ≤ - 2 SD for the mean or less than 3rd percentile for age and sex) attending, Pediatric endocrinology clinic, the Children’s Hospital & the Institute of Child Health, Multan, from March 2011 to May 2012 were recruited after taking an informed consent. The detailed history and physical examination were recorded. Relevant investigations including anti-tissue transglutaminase (IgA & IgG) antibody by ELISA test, as a marker for CD were done. Causes of short stature were recorded on a predesigned proforma for final analysis. Results: Out of 288 short statured patients, 151(52.43%) were males with male to female ratio of 1.1:1. Nineteen (6.6%) patients were affected with CD, 43(14.9%) from hypothyroidism and 28(9.72%) from growth hormone deficiency (GHD). One of the GHD patients was also suffering from CD. Similarly among diagnosed hypothyroidism cases, one was having coexistent CD and diabetes mellitus. Out of 19 CD patients, 11were male and 8 females, all of them were anemic (Hb
