Table 4.
Comparison of Characteristics of Retested Adults with Initial Positive tTGA according to Subsequent Statusa
| Characteristic | Normalized tTGA (n=41) | Persistently positive tTGA (n=81) | Subsequent diagnosis of CeD (N=31) | P Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age at the initial testing, mean (SD), y | 46.8 (14.7) | 44.6 (10.5) | 36.8 (11.6) | 0.002a |
| Female sex | 23 (56.1%) | 39 (48.1%) | 26 (83.9%) | 0.003b |
| BMI (kg/m2), median (IQR) | ||||
| At initial testing, (n=86) | 32.4 (27.2–36.4) | 29.6 (25.9–36.4) | 24.4 (22.4–29.2) | 0.025c |
| At second testing, (n=110) | 28.6 (21.1–31.8) | 30.2 (25.8–35.9) | 24.7 (22.0–32.5) | 0.116c |
| Median follow-up interval (IQR), y | 9.1 (7.1–18.0) | 8.1 (6.7–9.2) | 7.7 (6.6–9.1) | 0.022c |
| Median tTGA at initial testing (IQR), U/mL |
8.7 (5.8–17.6) | 19.2 (9.7–42.5) | 15.5 (9.6–49.3) | <0.001c |
| Initial EMA positive | 29 (70.7%) | 69 (85.2%) | 27 (87.1%) | 0.102b |
| Presence of CeD related symptoms | 8 (19.5%) | 16 (20.0%) | 26 (83.9%) | <0.001b |
| Presence of autoimmune disease | 14 (34.1%) | 25 (31.3%) | 17 (54.8%) | 0.063b |
Abbreviations: BMI, body mass index; CeD, celiac disease; IQR, interquartile range; tTGA, tissue transglutaminase antibody.
a
Analysis of variance F-test.
b
χ2 test.
c
Kruskal-Wallis test.