May is the month dedicated to prevention and information on celiac disease, a chronic inflammation of the small intestine, triggered by the ingestion of gluten in genetically predisposed individuals. The tenth edition of National Celiac Disease Week will be held from 11 to 19 May and 16 May is World Celiac Disease Day. According to the Annual Report to Parliament (published by the Ministry of Health with 2022 data), celiac disease involves approximately 251,000 patients in our country, of which 70% (176,054) belong to the female population and the remaining 30% (75,885) to the female population. male. In 2022, 10,210 new diagnoses of celiac disease were recorded, an increase compared to 2021 (8,582) and 2020 (7,729). But according to the AIC, the Italian Celiac Association, there could be 600 thousand people with celiac disease, of which almost 60% have not yet been diagnosed.
According to the AIC, many false myths persist about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet: ‘The gluten-free diet makes you lose weight and even those who don’t have celiac disease can follow it to benefit from it’. ‘Celiac disease is a wheat allergy and is a temporary condition.’ ‘A person can be more or less celiac so, every now and then, it is possible to transgress the gluten-free diet.’ ‘If you suspect you have celiac disease, immediately putting yourself on a gluten-free diet can do you nothing but good.’
“Free medical screening and consultations; meetings and advice from dieticians and nutritionists, online and in person; dissemination and information initiatives in direct contact with experts; open days of the local AIC offices to inform and distribute material and gadgets to the population; workshops for children and fairy tale readings on celiac disease and inclusion, gluten-free cooking courses for adults and children: these are some of the numerous events dedicated to people with celiac disease, but not only, to talk correctly about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet. The complete calendar of events is available on weekly weekdays.it”, highlights the association.
Aic, ‘pilot project underway for pediatric screening for celiac disease and type 1 diabetes’
An important space within the National Week is dedicated to young people and schools with ‘Everyone at the table, all together: gluten-free menu days’, an initiative which involves the distribution of a completely gluten-free menu for everyone in the school canteens. nursery and primary schools, with the aim of raising awareness and informing students, families and teachers about celiac disease and the gluten-free diet. Born in 2010, it now involves 400 Italian municipalities thanks also to the collaboration with Anci: in 2023 alone, over 360,000 gluten-free meals were distributed.
“World Celiac Disease Day and National Celiac Disease Week are confirmed as fundamental moments for turning the spotlight on false myths and debunking the many fake news that revolve around celiac disease, a severe and still too underestimated disease – states Rossella Valmarana, president of the Italian Celiac Association – We also remember the importance of early diagnosis, a fundamental form of prevention of complications, even very serious ones, that a late diagnosis can bring. Precisely in recent months – he concludes – the pilot project of pediatric screening for celiac disease and type 1 diabetes is underway in Lombardy, Marche, Campania and Sardinia, launched by the Ministry of Health and the Higher Institute of Health in implementation of the law of 15 September 2023 number 130, which, the only example in the world, has the objective of identifying, in the pediatric population, people at risk of developing one or both diseases”.
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