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Gluten link found to schizophrenia
Researchers have found a strong relationship between gluten intolerance and schizophrenia.
Earlier this month another study found as many as one in 100 children could be affected by coeliac
disease - an intolerance to gluten found in foods made using flour.
Some clinical trials have shown that a cereal-free diet, such as that followed by those with coeliac
disease, helped tackle the symptoms of schizophrenia.
The most important genetic marker found in the study of coeliac disease has also been found to be
close to one implicated in schizophrenia.
In the latest research, published in the British Medical Journal, a team from the US and Denmark
studied 7,997 admitted to a Danish psychiatric facility for the first time between 1981 and 1998.
For each case they also randomly selected 25 control subjects matched
Four patients, five mothers of patients and three fathers of patients were being treated for coeliac
disease before they were admitted to hospital with schizophrenia - 1.5 per 1,000 patients.
Cases among the control group were 0.5 per 1,000 people.
The researchers concluded: "A history of coeliac disease is a risk factor for schizophrenia, as
shown in this epidemiological study.
"The risk relation is strong but reflects a small proportion of cases of either disorder, since both
disorders are rare."
The team, from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and Aarhus University in Denmark, said an
important question was the degree to which removing gluten from the diet would alleviate symptoms in
those with schizophrenia and coeliac disease.