Does my doctor need to check me regularly?

Because you might develop problems in the future, it is worth keeping an eye on your health. It is recommended that you have a check-up once a year to ensure all is well. It is a good idea to have blood tests once a year to ensure you are not anaemic or have become short of vitamins and other nutrients. Your doctor may also arrange for you to have a simple scan of your bones from time to time to look for any sign that the bones have become thin so this can be treated early.

Are any of my family likely to be affected?

Coeliac disease can run in families. If you have the condition, your parents, children and brothers and sisters have a one in 10 chance of also being affected. As the condition is easy to treat, there is emphatically no reason to worry about deciding to have children – unless you plan a very large family, the chance is that your children will be unaffected. However, you may wish to let your brother or sister know that they might have coeliac disease so they can have a check-up. Other more distant relatives, such as uncles, aunts and cousins are not more likely to be affected.

What research is needed?

We need to know more about why people develop coeliac disease. This will involve more research on how the genes of people with coeliac disease differ from those who don't have the condition. We also need to know more about how gluten causes damage to the intestine. There is much to be done to develop gluten-free products as tasty alternatives for patients to eat.