Celiac disease (CD) affects about 1 in 100 individuals worldwide.

Your risk is higher if:

• You have a first-degree relative (parent, sibling, or child) with celiac disease—raising your risk to about 1 in 10.
• You have other autoimmune diseases.**

Genes that allow the disease to exist

Most people with celiac disease carry specific gene variants:

1. HLA-DQ2 (about 90% of cases)
2. HLA-DQ8 (about 5–10% of cases)

However, carrying HLA-DQ2 or HLA-DQ8 does not mean you will develop celiac disease. In fact, 30–40% of the general population carries these variants, while only about 1% develop CD. This highlights that genetics alone are not sufficient. Additional factors—such as timing and amount of gluten exposure, early-life gastrointestinal infections, gut microbiome composition, and intestinal barrier integrity—also play important roles in disease development.

**Interestingly, type 1 diabetes (T1D) and CD share a common genetic basis, primarily involving human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class II genes on chromosome 6. Around 95% of individuals with T1D and 99% of those with CD carry these high-risk HLA variants.