A team of Swedish researchers through a recent study revealed that patients affected with celiac disease can be at a high risk for neuropathy.

In the study whose findings were published online in the journal JAMA Neurology, researchers examined more than 28,000 people living with celiac disease and a control group of more than 139,000 without the disorder.

They found that people with celiac disease were nearly 2.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with nerve damage, which is medically known as neuropathy.

As per experts, people with the disorder can prevent nerve damage by following a gluten-free diet, which requires avoiding foods that contains wheat, barley and rye.

According to Daily RX, Celiac Disease (CD) is an autoimmune digestive disorder that causes damage to the small intestine with intake of gluten. CD is passed on genetically and is estimated to affect almost 1 in 100 people across the world.

Researchers associated with the study stated that patients with neuropathy typically have weakness, numbness or pain in their extremities.

MedPage Today reported that the risk for neuropathy were at its highest in first year after diagnosis of the disease. But researchers noted a significant increase in neuropathy risk after the first year of follow-up.

The study author noted that there were no gender differences in neuropathy risk in celiac patients. The data collected during study suggests that the two diseases may share common risk factors for the development of neuropathy, such as a potential role of immunologic mechanisms.

Jonas Ludvigsson, M. D., Ph. D., of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm wrote that they found an increased risk of neuropathy in patients with celiac disease that persists after celiac disease diagnosis.

"Although absolute risks for neuropathy are low, celiac disease is a potentially treatable condition with a young age of onset. Our findings suggest that screening could be beneficial in patients with neuropathy", said Ludvigsson.