Abstract

Peroral jejunal biopsies were performed on 69 of 85 1st-degree relatives of 20 index coeliac patients in 20 families. Three had mucosal changes typical of coeliac disease, giving an incidence of 4.3%. This figure is similar to that for family studies in England, and it confirms the familial nature of coeliac disease in a population with different racial characteristics from countries where coeliac disease is common.