Introduction
Coeliac disease is more common in patients with type 1 diabetes mellitus than in the general population.  There is no published data available regarding the prevalence of celiac disease amongst individuals with T1DM in the United Arab Emirates(UAE).
Aims
To estimate the prevalence of coeliac disease in Emirati people with type 1 diabetes.
Methods  
We examined data for all UAE Nationals with a clinical diagnosis of type 1 diabetes reviewed at ICLDC (n=2510). All individuals in whom celiac disease screening was performed using anti-tissue transglutaminase (anti-TTG) antibody and IgA titer were included in analysis (n=802).  Anti-TTG antibody was considered positive at titer ≥ 20 AU/mL, anti-glutamic acid decarboxylase antibodies (anti-GAD) and anti-islet antigen 2 antibodies(anti-IA2) were considered positive at titers ≥ 10 IU/mL.  
Results
91 participants were anti-TTG positive by our criteria, while a further 15 participants who were anti-TTG negative had evidence of IgA deficiency; in total, 106 of 802 (13.2%) of individuals screened (4.2% of all Emirati Nationals diagnosed with type 1 diabetes) showed evidence of possible celiac disease.
Anti-IA2 antibody titer was available in 779 participants, while anti-GAD antibody was available in 788 participants.  Neither anti-IA2 positivity (chi squared 0.25, p=0.61) nor anti-GAD positivity (chi squared <0.001, p=0.98) was significantly associated with possible celiac disease in this patient group.
No participant with possible celiac disease had evidence of hypocalcaemia, defined as corrected serum calcium < 2.1 mmol/L.  63 of 106 (59.4%) individuals with possible coeliac disease had evidence of iron deficiency, defined as hemoglobin < 120 g/L in females and < 140 g/L in males in combination of MCV < 80 fL.  However, microcytic anemia was common in this group (435 of 802, 54.2%) and was not significantly associated with evidence of possible celiac disease (chi squared 1.10, p=0.29). 
Discussion
The prevalence of either anti-TTG positivity or IgA deficiency suggestive of possible coeliac disease in Emirati people with type 1 diabetes is between 4.2 and 13.2%.  Although we did not have access to definitive diagnostic testing, anti-TTG antibodies are highly specific for celiac disease and hence these represent reasonable estimates for the lower bounds of prevalence.  We were not able to establish associations between anti-TTG positivity and evidence of malabsorption in this population. Our data supports the need for screening for coeliac disease among Emirati patients with type 1 diabetes.

Coeliac disease among Emirati patients with type 1 diabetes: data from a large diabetes centre in the UAE