1.   Clinicians should be alert to the possibility of coeliac disease in the elderly particularly in patients with non-specific complaints in the presence of unexplained anaemia.

2.   Fourteen patients gave histories of unexplained anaemia.

3.   The final diagnosis of the control patients was sporadic colonic polyps, diverticular disease, haemorrhoids, unexplained anaemia, carcinoma, and irritable bowel syndrome.

4.   The final diagnosis in control patients was diverticular disease, colonic cancer, unexplained anaemia, and irritable bowel syndrome.