People of Irish heritage have a higher possibility of celiac disease, a disorder in the small intestine that causes damage when wheat, barley or rye products are eaten.
Dr. Sheila Crowe, a professor of gastroenterology writing in The New York Times, stated that celiac disease was "most common in the Irish population," and that nowadays it is thought that 1 in 100 are affected by it. She pointed out that Ireland, like many other European countries, has a very high rate of celiac disease.
Crowe states that that Irish and others "also have the genes that predispose to celiac disease. These genes are in the family of genes for proteins referred to as human leukocyte antigens, or H.L.A. A subset of these genes are involved in autoimmune diseases, and the genes that predispose to celiac disease are in that group.
“Some of these H.L.A. genes can be tested for using a sample of blood or cells taken from your mouth by swabbing the inside of your cheek," she said.
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.jeepspeaches | Feb 08, 2013, 11:11 PM EST
Ciaradexy, Your response is inncorrect. Ireland as an island was believed to be introduced to these grains at a later date than other peoples were. This is believed to be why the disease exhists. Many people from the mid East have lactose intollerance due to the non exhistance of cows milk in there diet so they respond better to goat milk and other non lactose milks that they are genetically used to. These genetic anomalies exhist all over the world due to inexposure to substances or cultural practices. People evolve genetically around what they are exposed to. Your statement really makes no sense.
ciaradexy | Aug 01, 2012, 12:58 PM EDT
The reason certain parts of Ireland have high prevalences of coeliac disease is due to intermarrying over the generations. Inbreeding in other words.
manhattan | Jan 14, 2010, 02:10 PM EST
My daughter was just diagnosed with celiac disease and the doctor said the Irish have a high incident of it. She is 3rd generation irish american but still has the genes. So many of my relatives had "bad stomachs" and I wonder if that was the problem. She is cooking and eating a gluten free diet. I hope this helps someone get checked if you have these symptoms.