At a glance
Bedwetting can have many contributing factors. This article explores a less widely recognised possibility, based on limited medical observations, that celiac disease may be relevant for a small subset of children.
Celiac disease is an immune condition triggered by gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. While it primarily affects the small intestine, research shows it can also influence systems beyond digestion. These include bowel function, sleep regulation, nervous system signaling, and nutrient absorption.
All of these systems play a role in nighttime bladder control. For this reason, celiac disease may be relevant in a small number of children whose bedwetting persists beyond the early years or does not improve with usual approaches.
In celiac disease, the immune system damages the lining of the small intestine. This damage reduces the body’s ability to absorb nutrients properly.
Many children with celiac disease do not have clear digestive symptoms. Instead, signs may include:
Because these signs can be subtle and develop slowly, coeliac disease is sometimes missed. Some children do not show the typical gut symptoms, which can make it harder to recognise.
In fact, according to Coeliac Australia, around 1 in 70 Australians have celiac disease, yet only about 20 percent are diagnosed. This means the majority of Australians with celiac disease do not know they have it.
Nighttime bladder control depends on several systems working together during sleep. In some children with untreated celiac disease, changes across these systems may combine in a way that affects nighttime dryness.
Children with untreated celiac disease often have difficulty absorbing key nutrients, particularly:
These nutrients support normal nervous system function, muscle activity, and communication between the bladder, nervous system, and brain.
Some studies have reported lower levels of vitamin B12, folate, and vitamin D in children who wet the bed compared to peers. Vitamin B12 and folate are involved in nerve signaling, while vitamin D also plays a role in muscle function and sleep regulation.
When nutrient absorption is reduced, the coordination between these systems during sleep may be less effective in some children. This can make it harder for the body to respond appropriately to bladder filling overnight, contributing to ongoing bedwetting.
Celiac disease involves ongoing immune activity throughout the body, not only in the gut. Research shows that children with celiac disease can experience changes in sleep, including heavier sleep, disrupted sleep, or difficulty moving between sleep stages.
One aspect of staying dry at night is how the brain registers bladder fullness and responds during sleep. Changes in sleep quality or sleep depth may make this response less reliable in some children, particularly when combined with other contributing factors.
Constipation is common in children with celiac disease, even when bowel movements appear regular.
When stool builds up in the rectum, it can:
Press against the bladder
Reduce how much urine the bladder can hold
Trigger bladder emptying too early
This bowel-bladder connection is well recognised in paediatric continence care. When constipation is present, bedwetting often continues despite bladder-focused strategies.
Celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity are not the same condition.
In celiac disease, gluten triggers an immune response that damages the lining of the small intestine. This damage can be identified through blood tests and, when needed, further medical assessment.
Non-celiac gluten sensitivity does not involve this type of immune damage, and standard celiac tests are negative. In this context, some parents report that their child’s bedwetting seems more likely after eating gluten; however, there is currently no clinical research specifically examining a link between non-celiac gluten sensitivity and bedwetting.
Although bedwetting is not widely studied in relation to celiac disease, a small number of studies examining children with celiac disease have reported higher-than-expected rates of bedwetting or urinary symptoms. These findings were reported as part of broader symptom profiles rather than as a primary research focus.
In one clinical cohort of children with celiac disease, bedwetting was reported in approximately 14 percent of cases. This is higher than typically reported in school-aged children, where prevalence generally declines to around 5 to 10 percent by age seven.
Individual case reports also describe bedwetting occurring alongside other systemic features of celiac disease. One published pediatric case report describes a child with long-standing constipation and intermittent bedwetting that did not improve with standard treatments. After celiac disease was diagnosed and a gluten-free diet was introduced, both bowel symptoms and bedwetting resolved.
Taken together, these observations suggest that in a small subset of children, bedwetting may occur alongside broader systemic effects of celiac disease rather than reflecting a primary bladder issue alone.
Routine testing for celiac disease is not recommended for every child who wets the bed. However, clinicians may consider screening when bedwetting occurs alongside other clinical features, including:
It is important to note that celiac disease in Australia can only be formally diagnosed by a paediatric gastroenterologist. Moreover, for testing to be accurate, gluten needs to remain part of a child’s diet. If gluten has been removed for more than around six weeks before testing, results can become unreliable or harder to interpret.
In addition, a gluten-free diet is not automatically healthier and, without careful planning and guidance from a qualified dietitian or nutrition specialist, may be low in fibre and key nutrients. This may affect bowel function and, in some cases, contribute to constipation or increased wet nights.
Separately, age plays a role in how bedwetting is interpreted clinically. In younger children, particularly around age five, bedwetting can still fall within typical developmental patterns, even when families feel they have tried many approaches. As children get older, especially in the later primary school years, ongoing bedwetting is more likely to prompt broader medical evaluation alongside functional support.
In this context, broader medical evaluation becomes more important when bedwetting is non-monosymptomatic (meaning it occurs alongside other symptoms) or does not improve with approaches such as support for building brain-bladder communication, lifestyle changes, alarms, or medication.
For the vast majority of families, bedwetting is not related to coeliac disease. However, in a very small number of children, particularly when bedwetting continues into the later primary school years and occurs alongside other health signs, coeliac disease may be one contributing factor worth considering. In these situations, disrupted sleep regulation, ongoing constipation, reduced nutrient absorption, and altered nervous system signalling can combine in ways that interfere with nighttime bladder control. Considering this possibility when other approaches have not led to improvement helps ensure that a broader medical contributor is not missed.
If this helps even one family look a little wider and find an answer that has been missed, then it has been worth sharing.
This article is informational and does not replace medical assessment or treatment. Support programs address functional contributors to bedwetting and are not treatments for celiac disease.
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https://doi.org/10.1007/s13312-024-3154-8
Ginny Laver BA (Hons), MSc, NLP, Dip. THP is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioner who specialises in helping children learn how to stop bedwetting naturally.
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