English: This week is Coeliac Awareness Week. The focus is on getting early diagnosis for more people, because research shows that delayed diagnosis can lead to irreversible neurological problems affecting speech, balance and co-ordination. Coeliac disease is a serious lifelong autoimmune condition caused by a reaction to gluten - a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and some oats. People diagnosed with the condition must stay gluten free for the rest of their lives if they are to avoid very serious complications such as osteoporosis, infertility and a rare small bowel cancer. One in every 100 people in Wales has coeliac disease, but less than a quarter of these have been diagnosed. Indeed, Wales has the lowest diagnosis rates - at 22 per cent - for the condition in the whole of the UK. On top of this, it takes an astonishing 13 years on average for a person to be diagnosed. Coeliac UK is 50-years-old this year. It carries out sterling work on behalf of coeliac sufferers, but there is an urgent need for more money and research. In March this year, Coeliac UK launched a £5 million research fund appeal and with public support hope to deliver more research into the disease. I am proud to chair the cross-party group on coeliac disease and have seen up close the impact the condition can have. As a GP, I know the importance of early diagnosis and the difference it makes to patients' lives. We can all do our bit by raising awareness of coeliac disease and I'd encourage you all to support the work of Coeliac UK and its local groups across Wales.
Welsh: Mae'r wythnos hon yn Wythnos Ymwybyddiaeth Seliag. Mae'r ffocws ar gael diagnosis cynnar i fwy o bobl, gan fod ymchwil yn dangos bod diagnosis hwyr yn gallu arwain at broblemau niwrolegol anwrthdroadwy sy'n effeithio ar leferydd, cydbwysedd a chydsymud. Mae clefyd seliag yn gyflwr awto-imiwn gydol oes difrifol a achosir gan adwaith i glwten - protein a geir mewn gwenith, haidd, rhyg a rhai mathau o geirch. Mae'n rhaid i bobl sydd wedi cael diagnosis o'r cyflwr beidio â bwyta glwten am weddill eu hoes os ydynt am osgoi cymhlethdodau difrifol iawn fel osteoporosis, anffrwythlondeb a chanser prin yn y coluddyn bach. Mae un o bob 100 o bobl yng Nghymru yn dioddef o glefyd seliag, ond mae dros dri chwarter o'r rhain heb gael diagnosis. Yn wir, Cymru sydd â'r cyfraddau diagnosis isaf - 22 y cant - ar gyfer y cyflwr yn y DU gyfan. Yn ogystal â hyn, mae'n cymryd cymaint ag 13 o flynyddoedd ar gyfartaledd i unigolyn gael diagnosis. Mae Coeliac UK yn 50 mlwydd oed eleni. Mae'n cyflawni gwaith rhagorol ar ran dioddefwyr cyflwr seliag, ond mae taer angen am fwy o arian a gwaith ymchwil. Ym mis Mawrth eleni, lansiodd Coeliac UK apêl ar gyfer cronfa ymchwil gwerth £5 miliwn, a gyda chefnogaeth y cyhoedd, mae'n gobeithio cyflawni mwy o waith ymchwil i'r clefyd. Rwy'n falch o fod yn gadeirydd ar y grŵp trawsbleidiol ar glefyd seliag ac rwyf wedi gweld drosof fy hun yr effaith y gall y cyflwr ei gael. Fel meddyg teulu, gwn pa mor bwysig yw diagnosis cynnar a'r gwahaniaeth y mae'n ei wneud i fywydau cleifion. Gall pawb ohonom chwarae ein rhan drwy godi ymwybyddiaeth o glefyd seliag a buaswn yn annog pob un ohonoch i gefnogi gwaith Coeliac UK a'i grwpiau lleol ledled Cymru.