Folate Deficiency and Depressive Risk in Celiac Disease in Adult Women: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis

Judah Womack *

Drexel University College of Medicine, United States.

Kyle Yang

Drexel University College of Medicine, United States.

Anelise Seicean

University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Romania.

Eduardo Espiridion

Drexel University College of Medicine, United States.

*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.


Abstract

Aims: The goal of this study was to determine the significance of folate deficiency in individuals diagnosed with celiac disease and their subsequent risk of developing depressive episodes.

Study Design: Retrospective Cohort Study.

Place and Duration of Study: TriNetX, global health online platform.

Methodology: Data for this retrospective study was acquired through TriNetX, a global, health online platform that uses real world patient electronic health records (EHR) with over 100 million patients from 95 healthcare organizations (HCOs). Queries were conducted totaling 206 female patients with celiac disease with folate deficiency and without deficiency for associated risk of depressive episodes. Data analysis was conducted via TriNet’s built-in analysis software. Descriptive statistics were used to compare patient demographics with continuous variables measured with standard deviation and categorical variables measured with frequencies.

Results: Of 206 patients with celiac disease in our total cohort comparing 28 participants with folate deficiency to 18 participants without deficiency Our odds ratio of 0.464 with 95% confidence intervals (CI) between (0.236,0.909). These results showed female celiac patients without folate deficiency were 46.4% less likely to have depression compared to those with folate deficiency. Our hazard ratio of 0.22 was not statistically significant, as the calculated p-value was 0.7705.

Keywords: Celiac disease, Disease-specific immune cells, Neurotransmitter, Nutritional therapies


How to Cite

Womack, Judah, Kyle Yang, Anelise Seicean, and Eduardo Espiridion. 2025. “Folate Deficiency and Depressive Risk in Celiac Disease in Adult Women: A Retrospective Cohort Analysis”. International Research Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology 8 (1):116-22. https://doi.org/10.9734/irjgh/2025/v8i1119.

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