Cardiovascular disease in patients with coeliac disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Coeliac disease has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in some studies, whereas other studies have shown no association. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of cardiovascular disease in celiac disease.

Methods: Pubmed, Cinahl, EMBASE and Medline via Ovid were searched for relevant articles published until January 5, 2015. English-language articles on studies with more than 20 patients were included, and were quality rated using the GRADE risk of bias tool. We used random-effects models and assessed heterogeneity using the I(2) statistic.

Results: Ten studies were relevant, reporting the risk of myocardial infarction, cardiovascular death and stroke in 33,128/32,903/32,466 coeliac disease patients respectively. Only one study examined celiac disease and a composite measure of cardiovascular disease and this study found a hazard ratio of 1.10 (95%CI 1.03-1.28). In a meta-analysis, we observed an increased risk of stroke (OR 1.11; 95%CI 1.02-1.20). The risks of myocardial infarction (OR 1.12; 95%CI 0.83-1.40) and cardiovascular death (OR 1.12; 95%CI 0.96-1.29) were similar but were estimated with less certainty. Heterogeneity was low for all outcomes except for myocardial infarction where it was moderate.

Conclusion: Coeliac disease was associated with a modestly increased risk of cardiovascular disease, but the evidence base is limited.