Celiac is a genetic disorder, therefore it is highly recommended that family members be tested. Parents, siblings and children of Celiacs have a 10% chance of having the
disease. Also at increased risk are grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Family members with other autoimmune diseases have a 25% risk of developing Celiac – so alert your loved ones of your diagnosis and suggest they consider being screened as well.
Some Celiac research centers recommend screening only for family members who are symptomatic, though this is not a consensus among the medical community. It is agreed upon that children should be screened, because they may be too young to describe symptoms accurately.
Important to note: Even if the antibody blood test is negative at the time of initial testing, Celiac can be triggered later at any point in life, so follow-up testing should occur for family members, certainly if experiencing classic gastrointestinal symptoms.
(What every patient and doctor should read: http://cdn.glutenfreely.com/pdf/CeliacDiseaseScreeningTool.pdf)
