Mood, Behavior, Mental Illness and Gluten

mood & gluten
GIG of ECW Newsletter Article - September 2014

The intent here is not to bore you with medical mumbo jumbo [WARNING: medical mumbo jumbo lies ahead], but the take-away here is simply this:

Gluten has been shown to affect mood, behavior, and cognitive function.


"The gut is not like Las Vagas. What happens in the gut, does not stay in the gut."

~ Dr. Alessio Fasano


Remember, gluten can affect any and every organ in the human body – the brain and nervous system are not exempt – even without the presence of celiac disease. Science & medicine are discovering more connections as time goes on.

The statistics for mental illness in the United States are staggering.
  • One in four [25%] adults experience mental illness in a given year.
  • One in 17 [approx 6%] live with serious conditions like: schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder.
  • Approx. 1.1% of adults live with schizophrenia.
  • Suicide is the tenth leading cause of death in the US (more common than homicide) and third leading cause for ages 15 to 24 year olds.
  • More than 90% of those who die by suicide had one or more mental disorders
  • In 2010, the Center for Disease Control reported 38,364 suicides per year – about 14% more than motor vehicle crashes.
  • $193.2 billion – Lost earnings per year due to mental illness.
  • Veterans account for 20% of suicides. 22 per day.
  • Mood disorders (like depression) are the third most common cause of hospitalization for youth and adults 18 to 44.
You can find more mental illness statistics in this document from National Alliance of Mental Illness: http://bit.ly/1sMndpF

After looking at those statistics, sadly, I suspect just about every family has had some experience with mental health issues in some form, be it directly or indirectly. I am no exception. My father was a diagnosed Paranoid Schizophrenic. Like many, he was not compliant with his medication regimen nor did he seek on-going professional help. The consequences of his choices are still rippling outward today, almost 50 years after his suicide. I will always wonder if removing gluten would've altered our family's history; without question it has altered my future.

Most mainstream medical professionals do not associate gluten with neurological/behavioral disorders. This is unfortunate because Dr. Marios Hadjivassiliou, Professor of Neurology at Sheffield, UK Teaching Hospitals, stated in 2002,“Gluten sensitivity can be primarily and at times exclusively a neurological disease.”
http://bit.ly/1qXJdf3

Dr. Hadjivassiliou has done extensive work with a neurological condition called Gluten Ataxia. This condition is characterized by the loss of balance and coordination, visual disturbances, tremors, difficulty in walking. Living Without Feb/March 2011 has an excellent article on this topic -
http://bit.ly/1u24c0q

Dr. Hadjivassiliou is not alone in his discoveries. Dr. Rodney Ford, a Pediatric Gastroenterologist/Allergist from Christchurch New Zealand, wrote this medical hypothesis paper in 2009 titled - “The Gluten Syndrome: A Neurological Disease” -
http://bit.ly/1tkM58j


“Gluten can cause neurological harm through a combination of cross reacting antibodies, immune complex disease and direct toxicity. These nervous system affects include: dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system, cerebella ataxia, hypotonia, developmental delay, learning disorders, depression, migraine, and headache. If gluten is the putative harmful agent, then there is no requirement to invoke gut damage and nutritional deficiency to explain the myriad of the symptoms experienced by sufferers of celiac disease and gluten-sensitivity. This is called ‘‘The Gluten Syndrome”

~ Dr. Rodney Ford.



Dr. Ford has devoted an entire book on the subject of gluten's effect on our brains. I highly recommend “Gluten Brains” -
http://bit.ly/GlutenBrains

“Neurologic and Psychiatric Manifestations of Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity”was published in Psychiatric Quarterly in March 2012 and contains a great summary of a variety of gluten-related conditions.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3641836/


Neurologic Complications include:

  • Gluten Ataxia
  • Epilepsy and Seizure Disorders
  • Peripheral Neuropathy
  • Inflammatory Myopathies
  • Myelopathies
  • Headache
  • Gluten Encephalopathy (Brain Damage)
  • White matter abnormalities

Psychiatric Complications include:

  • Anxiety Disorders
  • Depression and Mood Disorders
  • Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
  • Autism Spectrum Disorders
  • Schizophrenia

The Celiac Disease Foundation created an excellent resource on celiac disease (and non-celiac wheat/gluten sensitivity) and mental health. It's meant to be shared with healthcare providers.

Celiac Disease and Mental Health
http://ow.ly/en1M30ghVy8

A wide range of psychological problems can arise for those with untreated celiac disease or non-celiac wheat sensitivity. Initially there may be a misdiagnosis of psychiatric illness due to some of the neurological and psychiatric symptoms that can be seen in untreated disease. Once diagnosed, there may be difficulty adjusting to a new diagnosis of chronic illness and adherence to a gluten-free diet."

When a Mental Health Referral Is Needed

A wide range of psychological problems can arise for patients with untreated celiac disease or non-celiac wheat sensitivity. These can include difficulties adjusting to a new diagnosis of chronic illness as well as dealing with adherence to a gluten-free diet and other aspects of disease management. Protracted duration of emotional or behavioral symptoms, greater severity of symptoms, and/or significant impairment in functioning are indicators of potential need for mental health treatment. These include:

• Finding little or no pleasure in life
• Feeling worthless or extremely guilty
• Crying a lot for no particular reason
• Withdrawing from other people
• Experiencing severe anxiety, panic or fear
• Having big mood swings
• Experiencing a change in eating or sleeping patterns
• Having very low energy
• Losing interest in hobbies or pleasurable activities
• Having too much energy, having trouble concentrating or following through on plans
• Feeling easily irritated or angry
• Experiencing racing thoughts or agitation
• Hearing voices or seeing images that other people do not experience
• Believing that others are plotting against you
• Wanting to harm yourself or someone else

When A Medical Evaluation Is Needed

Initially those with celiac disease or non-celiac wheat sensitivity may be misdiagnosed with a psychiatric illness due to some of the neurological and psychiatric symptoms that can be seen in untreated disease including:

• Mood changes
• Anxiety
• Fatigue
• Difficulties with concentration and attention
• Sleep difficulties
• Decrease appetite

Celiac Disease and Gluten-Related Conditions Psychological Health Training Program

The Celiac Disease and Gluten-Related Conditions Psychological Health Training Program was created by the Children’s National Health System in partnership with Celiac Disease Foundation, and was made possible by a generous grant from the Resnick Family. This continuing education program provides a tool kit for medical and mental health practitioners to identify and treat patients living with celiac disease and other gluten-related conditions.

Watch the Psychological Health Training Program Webinar
http://bit.ly/2hI3QgT

Psychological Health Manual

Available both as an interactive manual and as a pdf document, the goal of this manual is to increase medical and mental health providers’ awareness of celiac disease and non-celiac wheat sensitivity in pediatric populations. However, it’s lessons apply to adult populations, and is a useful tool for patients and caregivers to better understand the disease.

Read the Psychological Health Training Program Manual
http://bit.ly/2iwf2wV




Depression

Depression is a medical condition that interferes with daily life; affecting thoughts, feelings, behavior, mood and physical health for extended periods of time. Some people may only have one episode of major depression in their lifetime, but often times it is a recurrent issue.

In celiac disease, nutritional deficiencies from intestinal damage may also contribute to depression. Lack of B-vitamins, specifically B-12 and folic acid have been linked.

Reports of depression in those with celiac disease began appearing in the 1980s. In 1982, a Swedish study reported “Our results suggest that depressive psychopathology is a feature of adult coeliac disease and may be a consequence of malabsorption”
http://1.usa.gov/W3jKEB

A 1998 study shows about one third of diagnosed celiac patients also suffer from depression. Celiac adolescents have higher than normal rates of depression (31% vs 7% of adolescents without celiac).
http://bit.ly/1qUGi2S

A large Swedish study published in 2007 compared almost 14,000 celiac patients against almost 67,000 healthy people. Researchers found that celiacs are 80% more likely to experience depression than the general population. They also looked at the celiac-depression relationship in reverse. They found those with depression had a 230% increased risk factor of having celiac disease.
http://1.usa.gov/1pApGlN

Women with celiac disease have higher rates of depression than the general population. The risks were highest in those that were not compliant with the gluten-free diet. Even when compliant, women still had higher risks of depression over those without celiac.
http://bit.ly/W3nKoE

According to Dr. Tom O'Bryan, children have a 40% increase risk of suicide. Those children with intestinal inflammation [no villi damage yet] have a 96% increased risk.
http://bit.ly/1rJ7wjo

Adults diagnosed with celiac disease and/or intestinal inflammation have increased suicide risks as well. Another large study published in 2011 from Sweden shows those with with celiac disease [intestinal damage] had a 55% increased risk factor. Those with intestinal inflammation [no villi damage] had a 96% increased risk.
http://1.usa.gov/Z4DFFk

More Gluten & Depression Studies

“A study has now demonstrated that gluten is independently associated with depression in patients with NCGS.” -
http://1.usa.gov/1tZiAqc

“Exposure to gluten specifically induced current feelings of depression.” -
http://1.usa.gov/1ucfDBZ

“Lifetime depressive symptoms may be present in one third of the CD patients who adhere to gluten-free diet. Long-term adherence to the gluten-free diet may reduce the risk of current depressive symptoms.” -
http://1.usa.gov/1qqWZpe


Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a brain disorder that distorts thinking, behavior, emotions, the perception of reality. Delusions [believe people are try to control them or plotting against them] and hallucinations [hearing voices] are common symptoms.

There have been observations of Schizophrenia and gluten dating back to the 50's & 60's – also known then as “Bread Madness”.

In 1953 Dr Lauretta Bender started seeing increased incidences of celiac disease in those with childhood schizophrenia.

In 1961 Harold Graff, M.D. and Allen Handford M.D. published the case study, “Celiac Syndrome in the Case Histories of Five Schizophrenics”, about five patients with a history of schizophrenia and celiac disease who happened to be admitted to the same psychicatric hospital over the course of 365 days. A most curious observation in facility that had few admissions over the course of a typical year.
http://bit.ly/1uFm56w

Dr. F. Curtis Dohan spent most of his career drawing connections between wheat and schizophrenia. He too noticed a number of patients with schizophrenia also had celiac disease – potentially 50 to 100 times the rate that would be expected by mere chance. Beyond these connections, he reported that a gluten-free diet improved some of the newly diagnosed schizophrenics, but not all. 2 out of 17 improved.
http://bit.ly/1nhCHLw

In 1966 Dohan published “Wheat Consumption and Hospital Admissions for Schizophrenia During World War II”. He analyzed the the decreases in hospital admissions for schizophrenia during the wheat shortages in Finland, Norway, Sweden, Canada and the United States during World War II.
http://bit.ly/1q0nRxU

Like many pioneers in their field, Dohan was often ridiculed and marginalized for his work [opioid research in mental illness], but he continued publishing his findings. Dohan also demonstrated that schizophrenia was almost non-existent in South Pacific cultures where little to no grains were consumed. When those cultures began to westernize their diet with the consumption of wheat, barley beer, and rice, the prevalence reached European levels.
http://1.usa.gov/1wYpKja

Did Dohan find a “scientific smoking gun” linking gluten and schizophrenia – not exactly according to some experts, but his work is now proving to be quite interesting and now beginning to be validated.

It has only been over the last decade or so that experts have shown gluten's effects on the nervous system. Even to this day experts are still looking indisputable evidence connecting the two conditions.

In 2012, another study revealed that people with schizophrenia are much more likely than the general population to have an immune response to gluten. When those with schizophrenia and a documented immune response to gluten tried a gluten-free diet, they got better. These results are very promising for those suffering from a neuro-degenerative condition where little else works.

Not everyone with schizophrenia will see improvements on a gluten-free diet. New research is indicating about 20% may experience measurable improvements. Dr. Alessio Fasano's team have found that roughly 1 in 5 patients with schizophrenia have elevated levels of tTG6 (a new marker indicating gluten-sensitivity). Those patients put on a gluten-free diet were able to control their condition without medication. Promising results indeed!

More Gluten & Schizophrenia Studies

“Gluten Sensitivity and Schizophrenia” a PowerPoint presentation by Deanna Kelly, Pharm.D, BCPP Professor of Psychiatry at Univ. of Maryland School of Medicine.
http://bit.ly/2f4x8pv

“Emerging scientific literature contains several reports linking gluten sensitivity states with neuropsychiatric manifestations including autism, schizophrenia, and ataxia.”
http://1.usa.gov/1tkxTvQ

“A drastic reduction, if not full remission, of schizophrenic symptoms after initiation of gluten withdrawal has been noted in a variety of studies. However, this occurs only in a subset of schizophrenic patients.” -
http://bit.ly/2kIpUtQ

“Five biomarkers of gluten sensitivity were found to be significantly elevated in patients with non-affective psychoses (schizophrenia) compared to controls.” -
http://1.usa.gov/1vXlWL1


Al Klapperich
Branch Manager
Gluten Intolerance Group of East Central WI


Updated: 11/05/17 - Add Celiac Disease Foundation information.
Updated: 02/12/17 - Fix broken schizophrenia study linkUpdated: 11/05/16 - Updated Deanna Kelly's presentation link.
Updated: 10/09/16 - Add Susan William's letter.