Editor,—We were interested to read the article by Challacombe et al reported a declining incidence of coeliac disease in West Somerset.1 Our observations on the incidence of coeliac disease in South Glamorgan over a 15 year period have revealed no such decline. We determined the frequency of new cases of coeliac disease from 1981 to 1995 in patients resident in South Glamorgan (1995 total population 415 900; population 14 years or younger 83 500; total live births 5700 per year). Cases of coeliac disease were ascertained from hospital activity data, pathology, dermatology, and dietetic records, general practitioner lists, and the local coeliac society.

All cases satisfied the revised ESPGAN diagnostic criteria.2 Over the three five-year periods (1981–85, 1986–90, 1991–95) the number of new cases in children younger than 14 were 8, 10, and 9, respectively—annual incidences of 2.08, 2.53, and 2.15 per 100 000. The incidence of childhood coeliac disease has therefore remained constant over the 15 year period at approximately 1 in 2500 to 1 in 3000 live births. In …