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Systemic lactose intolerance: a new perspective on an old problem.

Intolerance to certain foods can cause a range of gut and systemic symptoms. The possibility that these can be caused by lactose has been missed because of "hidden" lactose added to many foods and drinks inadequately labelled, confusing diagnosis based on dietary removal of dairy foods. Two polymorphisms, C/T13910 and G/A22018, linked to hypolactasia, correlate with breath hydrogen and symptoms after lactose. This, with a 48 hour record of gut and systemic symptoms and a six hour breath hydrogen test, provides a new approach to the clinical management of lactose intolerance. The key is the prolonged effect of dietary removal of lactose. Patients diagnosed as lactose intolerant must be advised of "risk" foods, inadequately labelled, including processed meats, bread, cake mixes, soft drinks, and lagers. This review highlights the wide range of systemic symptoms caused by lactose intolerance. This has important implications for the management of irritable bowel syndrome, and for doctors of many specialties.

Asthma↗

Reduced intolerance symptoms from lactose consumed during a meal.

Lactose digestion from and tolerance to lactose-containing beverages consumed with food was evaluated in 12 lactase-deficient subjects by breath-hydrogen techniques. Peak hydrogen production after a milk-based food supplement was delayed 2 h as compared with a lactose solution. Addition of a breakfast meal further delayed peak hydrogen production by 1 h. Hydrogen production was significantly lower (p less than 0.03) for the first 4 h after ingestion of the supplement plus meal compared with the supplement alone. Nine subjects experienced intolerance symptoms after consumption of the supplement alone but only three experienced them after consumption of the meal plus supplement. Severity of symptoms was significantly reduced with the ingestion of the supplement compared with an equal lactose load and was further reduced with the consumption of food, presumably due to delayed gastric emptying. Thus, lactose malabsorbers should consume food simultaneously with lactose-containing beverages to reduce intolerance symptoms.

Adult↗

Lactose intolerance: problems in diagnosis and treatment.

Lactose malabsorption and lactase deficiency are chronic organic pathologic conditions characterized by abdominal pain and distention, flatulence, and the passage of loose, watery stools. Though malabsorption of the sugar lactose is determinable by breath hydrogen test or jejunal biopsy, intolerance can only be confirmed by challenge with lactose-containing food, the response to which may not be immediate. The difficulty of making a positive diagnosis of these conditions has led to a proportion of lactose-intolerant patients being misdiagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which has a remarkably similar symptom complex and for which there is no current pathophysiologic marker. The incidence of the two disorders is approximately equal, but the actual proportion of patients with IBS incorrectly diagnosed in this way varies as a function of the methodology used. Once correct diagnosis is established, introduction of a lactose-free dietary regime relieves symptoms in most patients. Symptom similarity and the resultant incorrect diagnosis of IBS may explain the refractory nature of some patients labeled as IBS who remain largely unaware of the relationship between food intake and symptoms.

Breath Tests↗

Effects in premature infants of normalizing breath H2 concentrations with CO2: increased H2 concentration and reduced interaliquot variation.

Interval sampling of expired breath samples from the anterior nares is a feasible and noninvasive method for detecting elevated breath H2 and thus colonic carbohydrate fermentation, especially in nontherapeutic research studies of healthy premature infants. However, there may be a risk of falsely low breath H2 concentration and an unacceptable experimental error due to contamination with room air as well as with dead space air. We studied ten premature infants (28-32 week gestational age and 2-4 weeks postnatal age) who were receiving either a proprietary formula containing equal proportions of lactose and glucose polymer, or a similar formula in which lactose was the sole carbohydrate. In 70 breath samples (obtained 30-180 min after feeding) we assessed the coefficient of variation in breath hydrogen concentration among three aliquots obtained over a 3-5 min interval. Breath was collected from the anterior nares. The interaliquot coefficient of variation averaged 11% when expressed as parts per million per 5% CO2, compared to 19% when expressed as parts per million (Wilcoxon, p less than 0.001). Mean breath hydrogen concentration at each time period using the former method (parts per million per 5% CO2) was about 100% higher than when using the latter method. Although ventilation rate can alter alveolar CO2, normalizing for CO2 concentration reduces a major source of experimental error.

Analysis of Variance↗

Lactose intolerance.

Although lactose intolerance is very common it is not a serious health condition. The diagnosis is relatively simple and minimally invasive. Treatment is geared towards a life-long plan of management. Persons who have difficulty digesting lactose will learn by trial and error what food items cause distress and learn to avoid offending milk sugars. In addition many products are available over-the-counter to aid in digestion of lactose. Often these additives enable the person to consume lactose. Adequate amounts of calcium may be consumed by eating a carefully chosen diet containing lactose free sources of calcium in order to maintain healthy bone, nerve, and muscle development.

Adolescent↗

A new method for the detection of hydrogen in breath and its application to acquired and inborn sugar malabsorption.

An electrochemical device for the measurement of hydrogen in end-expired air is described and compared with an existing gas chromatographic method. The application of both these methods to subjects with acquired and inborn defects of sugar malabsorption is documented. Our simplified method of breath collection and the rapid estimation of hydrogen concentration provides a reliable, convenient and well-tolerated means of detecting sugar malabsorption.

Aged↗

Lactose malabsorption and lactose intolerance: implications for general milk consumption.

A total of 194 publications related to lactose malabsorption or intolerance were reviewed. The poor correlation between lactose malabsorption and intolerance to the amounts of milk ordinarily ingested in a meal, indicates that the assumption of milk tolerance by many populations is exaggerated. The methods for the diagnosis of these conditions were critically evaluated and it is suggested that, a) "physiological" doses of lactose be used; b) milk is the vehicle of choice; c) tests of intolerance be double-blind, and d) analysis of breath hydrogen be used for malabsorption. Most of the evidence indicates that milk consumption allows adequate growth of children, even when they are malnourished and have diarrhea. Nevertheless, it is recommended to substitute temporarily non-human milk by other good sources of dietary protein and energy during episodes of severe diarrhea, and to reintroduce milk to the diet gradually during convalescence. Breast feeding, however, should not be interrupted. These is not enough scientific nor epidemiological support to justify discouraging the use of milk in food supplementation programs, but several aspects that must be considered in such programs are outlined.

Adolescent↗

Lactose intolerance: a risk factor for reduced bone mineral density and vertebral fractures?

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the present study was to determine differences, if any, in bone mineral density, the risk of fracture, and clinical behavior in patients with lactose intolerance investigated by hydrogen breath test. METHODS: The study population (n = 218; age, mean +/- SD, 58.2 +/- 11.5 years) consisted of 103 healthy individuals negative hydrogen breath test (Delta H2 0-20 ppm; group I), and 115 individuals with evidence of lactose intolerance according to the hydrogen breath test (Delta H2 > 20 ppm), of whom 40 individuals had test results of 20 ppm < Delta H2 < 59 ppm (group II). The remaining 75 individuals were strongly positive on the hydrogen breath test (Delta H2 > 60 ppm; group III). The entire study population was measured for bone mineral density in the nondominant forearm and in the vertebra (quantitative computed tomography [qCT]). Radiographs of the spine were studied for fractures. RESULTS: In healthy individuals, bone mineral density in the vertebra assessed by qCT (mean +/- SD, 111.2 +/- 31 mg/cc) did not significantly differ between those with mild (qCT, mean +/- SD, 109.8 +/- 35 mg/cc) and those with severe (qCT, mean +/- SD, 107.7 +/- 36 mg/cc) lactose intolerance. Lactose-intolerant individuals had more vertebral fractures per patient when compared with those with mild lactose intolerance or controls ( P < 0.05). Considering vertebral and self-reported non-vertebral fractures, no statistically significant differences were found. In the entire group, the overall occurrences of fracture in the presence of lactose intolerance and in controls were comparable after correction for age and body mass index (BMI). CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with lactose intolerance verified by the hydrogen breath test appear not to be at risk for accelerated bone loss. Nevertheless, a relationship between vertebral fractures and an apparent lactose intolerance cannot be excluded, as a few individuals with severe lactose intolerance had a large number of vertebral fractures.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗

Enzyme replacement for lactose malabsorption using a beta-D-galactosidase.

We evaluated 10 healthy symptomatic lactose malabsorbers for effect of an oral beta-D-galactosidase derived from Aspergillus oryzae (Lactrase, Kremers Urban Company, Milwaukee, WI, U.S.A.) on symptom and breath hydrogen response to challenge with 50 g lactose. Basally and at 30-min intervals for 8 h after lactose challenge, end-alveolar breath samples were collected and analyzed for hydrogen using gas chromatography. Symptoms were scored at 30 min and hourly for 8 h, rating bloating, cramps, nausea, pain, diarrhea, and flatulence. Four challenges were performed on 4 separate days with at least 3 days between challenges. The first two challenges served as baselines. Just before ingestion of 50 g powdered lactose dissolved in 200 ml water, beta-D-galactosidase capsules were given orally as a 250-mg dose for the third challenge and a 500-mg dose for challenge 4. Hydrogen excretion, quantified by using a trapezoidal method for computing area under the discontinuous curve of breath hydrogen concentration, was decreased in subjects receiving beta-D-galactosidase (base-line I, 346.0 ppm/h; baseline II, 367.2 ppm/h; 250-mg galactosidase 208.2 ppm/h; 500-mg galactosidase, 178.0 ppm/h; p less than or equal to 0.05). Other analyzed parameters of H2 excretion were also decreased. Analysis of symptom response scores showed a dose-related decrease for bloating and flatus (p less than or equal to 0.05) and no statistical difference in the other assessed symptoms. We conclude that beta-D-galactosidase from Aspergillus oryzae, when given just before ingestion of lactose by lactose malabsorbers, can produce a dose-dependent reduction (statistically significant for the 500-mg dose) in breath hydrogen excretion, bloating, and flatus.

Adult↗

Lactose malabsorption during gastroenteritis, assessed by the hydrogen breath test.

Thirty-eight infants and young children with gastroenteritis were investigated for lactose malabsorption. Each of them was given an oral lactose load of either 0.5 g/kg or 2 g/kg after which breath hydrogen excretion was measured, and each was observed to see if he had clinical symptoms of lactose intolerance. Only one patient, given 2 g/kg lactose, had clinical intolerance. His breath hydrogen excretion however was negative. Three of 18 patients given 0.5 g/kg lactose had positive breath hydrogen tests. None of these was symptomatic. Lactose intolerance in gastroenteritis was rare in our study, and the hydrogen breath test was not an appropriate technique for detecting it.

Breath Tests↗

Comparison of lactose intolerance in healthy Kuwaiti and Asian volunteers.

OBJECTIVE: To study and compare the incidence of lactose intolerance among Kuwaiti and Asian healthy volunteers as measured by breath hydrogen level following challenge with lactose drink. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The study involved 70 Kuwaiti and 79 Asian healthy volunteers. The volunteers were physicians, medical students and other hospital workers. The study was carried out prospectively at Amiri Hospital, Kuwait. None of the volunteers was sick or had taken antibiotics or any other drug that could influence breath hydrogen level 2 weeks prior to the study. After an overnight fast 20-ml baseline samples of exhaled air were collected from each volunteer prior to oral administration of 40 g of lactose drink. Following this, the same amount of exhaled air was collected at 30-min intervals for 2 h. All samples were analyzed for hydrogen level using a Quintron microlyzer. Hydrogen level of 20 ppm more than baseline value was considered positive. RESULTS: The basal breath hydrogen levels were 12.49 +/- 8.4 and 6.97 +/- 6.9 for Kuwaitis and Asians, respectively. Thirty-three (47%) of the 70 Kuwaitis and 46 (58%) of the 79 Asians were positive for the breath hydrogen test. The clinical symptoms of flatulence, abdominal pain, and diarrhea were associated with high levels of breath hydrogen. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate that the Kuwaiti volunteers had higher breath hydrogen levels than Asians, but the incidence of lactose intolerance was similar in both groups.

Abdominal Pain↗