THE FACTS

“Gluten-free” is a buzzword these days. But even as awareness of celiac disease grows, its cause remains unclear to scientists.

Really? Anahad O’Connor tackles health myths.

One hypothesis is that the season in which a person is born may influence the development of this digestive disorder. Some researchers suspect that babies born in spring and summer are more susceptible to the disease, which is triggered by the gluten in wheat, barley and rye.

Babies usually begin eating foods containing gluten around 6 months of age, so those born in the warmer months would initially be exposed to gluten in the winter, when infections like cold and flu are common. Could early exposure to viral infections play a role in the autoimmune response to gluten?

For now that remains speculation. But at least three studies have backed the seasonal hypothesis. The most recent, published this month in The Journal of Pediatrics, looked at nearly 2,000 people with confirmed celiac disease. The researchers, at the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children, concluded that more patients were born in the spring than in any other season.

Another study, carried out in Sweden, looked at 2,151 children with the condition. For those younger than 2 at diagnosis, the researchers found, “the risk for celiac disease was significantly higher if born during the summer as compared with the winter” — particularly among boys, a pattern the authors could not explain.

They added that this would not be the first autoimmune disorder in which viral infections had suspected involvement. A growing number of studies suggest that in genetically susceptible individuals, Type 1 diabetes may also be triggered by viral infections.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Some studies suggest that season of birth may influence development of celiac disease, though more research is needed.