Celiac Disease Test

About 1% of people globally have celiac disease. It is one of the most common autoimmune diseases.

Untreated celiac disease is not only painful- it can also be dangerous in the long run. The longer an individual continues to eat gluten, the greater the chance of severe intestinal damage and other health problems. Untreated celiac disease can cause:

• Malnutrition
• Infertility/miscarriage
• Cancer
• Lactose intolerance
• Bone weakening/osteoporosis
• Other autoimmune conditions such as type I diabetes or multiple sclerosis
• Anemia
• Nervous system disorders

Therefore, early diagnosis of celiac disease is of the utmost importance. Luckily, it is now easy to test from home with Homed-IQ’s Celiac Test.

Celiac disease cannot be cured. Treatment consists of a lifelong gluten-free diet. After a diagnosis of celiac disease, we recommend that you contact a dietician or general practitioner for advice on how to eat according to a gluten-free diet.

Not only adults can have celiac disease. Symptoms of celiac disease can appear as early as 6 months after your baby has been given gluten-containing foods for the first time. For example, a gluten-containing biscuit, bread crust or pasta (Dutch Celiac Association). The following symptoms of celiac disease can occur in babies:

• Chronic diarrhea
• Stomach ache
• Stunted growth
• Little to no weight gain or weight loss
• Anemia
• Canker sores in the mouth
• A swollen stomach
• Crying often

Does your child suffer from these symptoms? Then we recommend that you consult your doctor to discuss the possibility of celiac disease.

We currently do not have any agreements with health insurers. We recommend you to check directly with your insurer whether at-home celiac tests are covered. Certain insurance companies do cover certain at-home laboratory tests.

Homed-IQ can provide itemized receipts for tests you order – which you can then submit to your insurance for reimbursement.

Our receipts include:

• Purchaser’s name, email, and address
• Date of purchase (as opposed to date of service)
• Amount paid (after any discounts or promotions)

Celiac disease can develop at any age if you eat gluten-containing foods and/or take gluten-containing medicines. Celiac disease can also develop despite a previous negative celiac test. The later the age at which celiac disease is diagnosed, the greater the chance of developing another autoimmune disease (Caio, G., Volta, U., Sapone, A. et al., 2019).

• Individuals with medical conditions that may contribute to false positives, such as Type 1 diabetes or other autoimmune diseases
• Individuals who did not eat gluten-containing foods 6-8 weeks prior to the test

Our self-sampling tests are scientifically certified and are validated for home use. The tests have been validated by our certified partner laboratory to see if the results of finger prick samples taken at home are as accurate as samples taken venously in a testing center or doctor’s office. It is only legal to sell validated tests confirmed to be equal in accuracy as non-self tests.

Each sample is processed in a laboratory that is ISO15189 certified, which enables us to guarantee the reliability of all our tests.

There is a very small chance of a false positive test result (Celiac Disease Foundation). This is especially true for people with autoimmune diseases such as type 1 diabetes, autoimmune liver disease, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, psoriatic or rheumatoid arthritis, and heart failure who do not have celiac disease.

Since false antibody test results can never be 100% ruled out, a small bowel biopsy is the only way to definitively diagnose celiac disease (Green, 2014).

Homed-IQ’s celiac test offers the same quantitative results as a test that you would get from your doctor. As we work with the same labs used by physicians, the results we provide are equal in quality. Rapid tests that are available through the drugstore are often not reliable and cannot provide a definitive quantitative answer as to what your antibody levels are. Therefore, additional tests are required to confirm the result- often the same test that Homed-IQ offers in the first place.

People who test negative for celiac show no signs of an immune response or intestinal damage associated with the disease. However, they still react badly to eating gluten. This group of people are said to have a gluten sensitivity or intolerance. To learn more about the difference between celiac disease and gluten intolerance, I recommend you to take a look at our article “The difference between celiac disease and gluten intolerance“.

Recent evidence shows that people with a gluten sensitivity may also react to other proteins or carbohydrates found in wheat. Therefore, gluten sensitivity or intolerance are commonly used terms for those who are sensitive to products that contain gluten.

People with a wheat or gluten sensitivity may experience the same symptoms as someone with celiac disease. However, they will not suffer damage to their intestinal lining as a result of eating gluten, nor will they test positive for celiac disease.

This test is a non-invasive initial method to check for celiac disease in adults. In case of a positive result, you can contact your GP, who will probably refer you to a specialist for further examination to establish the definitive diagnosis. Sometimes a biopsy is unnecessary and an additional blood test is sufficient.

The sensitivity and specificity for this blood test for celiac disease are 100%. Sensitivity is the ability of a test to identify a disease. Specificity is the ability of a test to correctly identify people without the disease.

This test shows whether you have celiac disease.

If no antibodies are found in the blood, the result is negative. You do not have celiac disease.
A very small proportion of people may have a false negative test result, for example if there was no gluten in the individual’s diet before the test was taken. In this case, follow-up testing with your GP will be needed.

If antibodies are found in the blood, the test result is positive. This means that you most likely have celiac disease. In that case, an adjustment of the diet is strongly recommended. Follow-up with your GP is needed to confirm a diagnosis of celiac disease.