Research report: Low prevalence of celiac disease in French children, a nationwide study

A nationwide health-data study estimated that celiac disease affected 0.15% of children in France in 2022, with regional prevalence ranging from 0.08% in the north-west to 0.25% in the south-east. Researchers identified 41,690 children younger than 18 with celiac disease between 2011 and 2022, providing updated population-level evidence that the condition is relatively uncommon among French children compared with reported estimates from several other European countries. The population study, published in Pediatric Research , used the French Health Data System, known by the French abbreviation SNDS, to identify cases nationwide.

A child qualified as having celiac disease if the data showed at least one hospitalization involving the condition, listed celiac disease as a long-term disease, or documented a serological diagnosis. The serological pathway required two transglutaminase antibody tests within 13 months and one endomysial antibody test within seven months after a transglutaminase antibody test. These criteria formed the basis for assembling the national pediatric cohort.

Annual incidence varied across the study period, ranging from 12.4 cases per 100,000 children in 2020 to 17.4 per 100,000 in 2012. The median age at diagnosis rose from six years in 2011 to seven in 2015. Across 2011–2022, the male-to-female ratio was 0.88, indicating more girls than boys among the children identified with celiac disease.

The observed age distribution and female predominance were consistent with recent European studies, according to the researchers. The analysis also quantified two comorbidities among the identified children. Thyroid disease was recorded in 1.7% of the cohort, while type 1 diabetes occurred in 9.7%.

These figures describe the proportions among children with celiac disease and should not be interpreted as prevalence estimates for either condition among all French children. Regional estimates in 2022 showed a more than threefold difference between the lowest and highest reported prevalence, from 0.08% in north-western France to 0.25% in the south-east. These values are geographic comparisons at one point in time, not evidence by themselves of a rise or decline within either region.

By combining national identification data, annual incidence estimates, diagnostic-age information, comorbidity estimates and regional prevalence estimates, the study offers an updated epidemiological baseline for pediatric celiac disease in France and documents meaningful variation across the country.

Subject of Research: National epidemiology, incidence and regional variation of celiac disease among children in France

Article Title: Low prevalence of celiac disease in French children, a nationwide study

Article References: Hmimou, M., Girard, C., Renoux, A., Arrouy, A., Lapeyre-Mestre, M., & Mas, E. (2026). Low prevalence of celiac disease in French children, a nationwide study. Pediatric Research. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-026-05545-9

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1038/s41390-026-05545-9

Keywords: celiac disease, pediatrics, France, prevalence, incidence, health data, regional variation, type 1 diabetes, thyroid disease, celiac, disease, French