By: Laura Geggel
Published: 03/02/2015 03:15 PM EST on LiveScience
Measuring children’s height and weight as they grow can be a powerful indicator of whether they have the digestive condition called celiac disease, and may help doctors diagnose children with the disorder earlier, a new study finds.
When used together, five calculations that are done based a child’s height and weight — such as how much a child’s height varies from the average for age and gender, and how this measure changes over time — were able to detect celiac disease in 84 percent of boys and 88 percent of girls with the disorder, according to the study, published online today (March 2) in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.
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“Consequently, we recommend systematic growth screening as a primary method for the early detection of chronic disorders that affect growth, such as celiac disease,” the researchers said.
“I think the paper highlights the fact that there are ways to diagnose [celiac disease] early,” said Dr. Peter Green, the director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University in New York City, who was not involved with the study. “We’re looking for a way to increase diagnosis from a very low baseline.”
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