People may be at an increased risk of developing coeliac disease if they suffer repeated infections in early life, a new study indicates.

Coeliac disease is a condition in which there is an abnormal reaction by certain cells in the immune system to gluten. Gluten is a general term used for a type of protein that is found in wheat and related grains, such as barley, rye and oats.

The disease can result in symptoms, such as diarrhoea, chronic fatigue, anaemia, weight loss and recurrent mouth ulcers. The exact cause is unknown, but it affects around 1% of the Irish population.

Swedish scientists compared the health history of children who had been diagnosed with coeliac disease to children without it. The children were, on average, 11 months old when they developed the disease, although diagnosis usually took another four months.

The study found that those who had three or more infections in their early months had a 50% increased risk of developing the condition. Gastroenteritis alone increased the risk by 80%.

Overall, the biggest risk was seen in children who had suffered several infections before they reached the age of six months, who had eaten large amounts of gluten soon after this food type was introduced to their diet and who had been weaned off breast milk before the introduction of gluten to the diet.

"While we do not know if the increased risk is due to a genetic predisposition to both infection and coeliac disease, our results highlight the importance of breastfeeding in reducing the risk of coeliac disease, especially for an infant who has frequent infections," the team said.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, BMC Pediatrics.