Coeliac disease patients have almost four times the normal risk of infection with active tuberculosis, Swedish researchers have claimed. Examination of hospital records in 14,335 coeliac patients and 70,000 people who were free from the disease showed that a prior diagnosis of coeliac disease was associated with a 3.7-fold increased risk of active TB infection. Intestinal malabsorption of vitamin D, calcium and other nutrients in coeliac patients could explain the link (Thorax Online). Pictured is a light micrograph of miliary tuberculosis in the lung.
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