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PRINTER'S NO. 790
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 110
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY CAPPELLETTI, BROWN, TARTAGLIONE, MARTIN, HUGHES,
KANE, CULVER, SANTARSIERO, FONTANA, HAYWOOD, COMITTA AND
COSTA, MAY 12, 2025
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, MAY 12, 2025
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing the month of May 2025 as "Celiac Awareness Month" in
Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, May is observed as "Celiac Awareness Month" by the
Celiac Disease Foundation, the National Foundation for Celiac
Awareness and other celiac disease organizations around the
nation and the world; and
WHEREAS, According to the Celiac Disease Foundation, celiac
disease is a serious autoimmune disease that occurs in
genetically predisposed people where the ingestion of gluten
leads to damage in the small intestine; and
WHEREAS, Celiac disease is estimated to impact 1 in 133
people worldwide and approximately 3 million Americans,
including more than 130,000 Pennsylvanians; and
WHEREAS, Researchers are finding that celiac disease
prevalence is doubling approximately every 15 years, making it a
growing public health concern; and
WHEREAS, It is estimated that up to 83% of Americans who have
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celiac disease are undiagnosed or misdiagnosed with other
conditions with 6 to 10 years marking the average time a person
waits to be correctly diagnosed; and
WHEREAS, For people with celiac disease, gluten, a protein
found in wheat, barley and rye, is poisonous; and
WHEREAS, Even a trace amount of gluten, such as a crumb, can
trigger an immune response leading the body to attack the small
intestine, and this intestinal damage can cause more than 200
debilitating symptoms; and
WHEREAS, According to the University of Chicago Celiac
Disease Center, gluten ingestion for people with celiac disease
causes permanent immunological scarring, doubles the risk of
heart disease and acts as a carcinogen, quadrupling the risk of
small intestinal cancers; and
WHEREAS, Many individuals with celiac disease are never
tested and sometimes are never even symptomatic; and
WHEREAS, By raising awareness of celiac disease, we can
improve early diagnosis, encourage policymakers to increase
access to services and fund research and reduce the feelings of
isolation and stigma faced by many patients; and
WHEREAS, Celiac disease research is severely underfunded in
proportion to the scale of the disease, treatment burden and
lack of available treatment options; and
WHEREAS, According to an analysis published in 2017 by the
American Gastroenterological Association titled "Disparities
Among Gastrointestinal Disorders in Research Funding from the
National Institutes of Health," celiac disease receives the
lowest amount of National Institutes of Health funding over a
five-year period; and
WHEREAS, The National Institutes of Health's research funding
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for celiac disease averaged $3 million annually or $1 for every
person with the disease; and
WHEREAS, Celiac disease research also received the lowest
amount of National Institutes of Health grants; and
WHEREAS, Currently, a strictly gluten-free lifetime diet is
the only way to manage the disease, and this is inadequate given
that 80% of foods contain gluten; and
WHEREAS, There is a constant risk of cross-contamination in
foods, and gluten is not required to be labeled on packaged
foods in the United States; and
WHEREAS, The Senate is an institution that can raise
awareness for celiac disease with the general public and the
medical community; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate recognize the month of May 2025 as
"Celiac Awareness Month" in Pennsylvania.
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