Abstract
Celiac disease and type 1 diabetes are both autoimmune diseases and associated with HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 genetic haplotypes. Of the 2.1 million people who have type 1 diabetes, approximately 8% to 10% have celiac disease. Type 1 diabetes presents with the classical symptoms of polydipsia and polyuria, whereas the diagnosis of celiac disease appears to need a high index of supposition since the symptoms are not as readily detectable. Thus, screening and reporting of celiac disease should be considered. This article addresses an overview of type 1 diabetes, celiac disease, their common genetic strand, possible reasons as to why celiac disease is underreported, and the challenges families face.