Seasonality of birth affects paediatric coeliac disease

Aim: This study investigated the seasonality of birth in children diagnosed with coeliac disease (CD) at a tertiary University hospital in Southern Israel. Methods: This was a population-based retrospective time series analysis study from January 1988 to December 2014. There were 308 903 live births at Soroka University Medical Centre during the study period and 699 were diagnosed with CD. We combined three databases covering births, CD diagnoses and weather indices. The daily proportion of births that resulted in CD for the different four seasons and high seasons were compared to the weather indices on the day of birth using negative binomial regression. Results: Statistically significant associations were found between the season of birth and the rate of CD, with autumn births being associated with a higher risk for the development of CD than births during the summer, with an incidence ratio of 1.22. The association was further increased when the defined summer and autumn high seasons were used, with an incidence ratio of 1.40. No association was found between CD and the mean temperature and global radiation. Conclusion: Coeliac disease was associated with birth during the autumn and the autumn high season posed an even more significant risk factor.