Cesarean section is not associated with increased risk of celiac disease in the offspring: a meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective

Epidemiologic findings are inconsistent concerning the association between cesarean section (C-section) and celiac disease in offspring.

Methods

We performed a systematic literature search of PubMed and Embase databases until July 2021. A meta-analysis was performed for each outcome in which a summary odds ratio (OR) was calculated while taking heterogeneity into account.

Results

A total of 11 observational were identified for the literature review. We found that C-section was not associated with an increase in the risk of CD (OR = 1.03, 95% CI, 0.95–1.12; p = .501). In subgroup analyses, the association remained insignificant for both infants born after elective C-section (OR 1.05; 0.95–1.16; p = .329) and emergency C-section (OR 1.06; 1–1.13; p = .051).

Conclusions

Our results indicate that C-section is not associated with CD in offspring.

Keywords:

• Cesarean
• gut microbiota
• celiac

Ethical approval

No ethical approval was required for this review as all data were already published in peer-reviewed journals.

Disclosure statement

There are no prior publications or submissions with any overlapping information, including studies and patients. The authors declare that they have no competing interest. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Author contributions

X.H.Y. and X.Y.Y. searched the library and wrote the manuscript text. Y.H.L. and H.Y.J. extracted data and reviewed all articles. H.Y.J. evaluated the bias. X.H.Y. designed the manuscript. All authors reviewed the manuscript.