Anemia in Non-celiac Wheat Sensitivity

In recent years, a new gluten- or wheat-related disease has emerged, a condition labelled \"non-celiac gluten sensitivity\" (NCGS) or \"non-celiac wheat sensitivity\" (NCWS). This is very often a self-reported condition, since patients refer to intestinal \[mainly irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)-like\] and/or extra-intestinal symptoms (i.e. fatigue, headache, anemia) caused by gluten or wheat ingestion, even though they do not suffer from celiac disease (CD) or wheat allergy (WA). Among the extra-intestinal symptoms, several studies have shown, in patients with NCWS, the presence of anemia, generally mild, often with iron or folate deficiency characteristics, but no research has ever been planned with the specific intention of analyze this particular aspect of the disease. Therefore, the aim of the present multicentric research was to analyze, both retrospectively and prospectively, the laboratory data of NCWS patients, compared to CD and IBS controls, to identify: a) the presence, severity and morphologic characteristic of anemia; 2) possible pathogenic mechanisms.