Evaluation of Physicians’ Perceptions of Celiac Disease in Nasiriyah Hospitals, Iraq

Al-Asadi, Dalal Ali; Farid, Wisam Abdul-Ameer; Thuwaini, Mahdi Murshd

doi:10.36582/ksj.2026.171529.1052

	Evaluation of Physicians’ Perceptions of Celiac Disease in Nasiriyah Hospitals, Iraq
Al-Kunooze Scientific Journal
Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript, Available Online from 28 June 2026
Document Type: Original Article
DOI: 10.36582/ksj.2026.171529.1052
Authors
Dalal Ali Al-Asadi^* ¹; Wisam Abdul-Ameer Farid¹; Mahdi Murshd Thuwaini²
¹Southern Technical University/ Collage of Health and Medical Technical / Department of Community Health Techniques, Basrah/ Iraq
²Southern Technical University/ Collage of Health and Medical Technical Basrah/ Iraq
Abstract
Background: Celiac disease (CD) is considered systemic chronic disorder, affecting 1-2% of the population, yet most silent or nonclassical cases remain undiagnosed, due to insufficient awareness and perception among Physicians, which subsequently affects their ability to make sound clinical decisions, patients' quality of life, and unnecessary medical expenses. Objectives: Assessment of Physicians’ perceptions regarding the symptoms, complications, and diagnosis of Celiac disease in Nasiriyah Hospitals. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study using convenient sampling was conducted in four hospitals in Thi-Qar Governorate, Iraq, with 300 participants. Results: Most participants were young physicians. Our survey revealed that internal medicine, gynecology and obstetrics are the most represented specialties, while gastroenterologists had the lower percentage. Only 18.7% of participants attended CD-related training in the past year. Gastroenterologists and internists scored higher in most perception subdomains compared to other specialists, except for disease severity and disability burden. Only one-fourth of the respondents were aware of lymphoma risk. The study also found that a high percentage of Physicians have a good general perception score. Only age, years of experience, and marital status had a significant impact on the Physicians' perception. Conclusions: Physicians show insufficient perception towards CD. Despite their recognition of serological testing, there is a gap regarding non-classical manifestations, complications, and the misconception that it is only a children's disease. This disparity may lead to delayed diagnoses and overlooked cases. For this reason, practical-discriminative educational interventions and training programs are required to make clinicians aware of the necessity of early diagnosis.
Keywords
Perception; Physicians; Celiac disease; Iraqi hospitals

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