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Lactose Malabsorption and Giardiasis in Basotho School Children
Author(s) -
TOLBOOM J. J. M.,
KABIR H.,
MOLATSELI P.,
ANDERSON J.,
ARENS T.,
FERNANDES J.
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1987.tb10415.x
Subject(s) - malabsorption , medicine , lactose , hydrogen breath test , lactose intolerance , diarrhea , gastroenterology , food intolerance , incidence (geometry) , excretion , pediatrics , breath test , food science , immunology , allergy , chemistry , physics , optics , helicobacter pylori
. The prevalence of primary, adult‐type, lactose malabsorption was assessed by means of the hydrogen breath test after intake of 360 ml of full cream milk (∼18 g lactose) in 96 randomly selected Basotho school children, aged 5–15 years. Of 86 children who did not have diarrhoea in the previous week 82 (85 %) were lactose malabsorbers, while 4 (5 %) could not be classified because of undetectable hydrogen excretion. Milk intolerance presenting as diarrhoea was significantly ( p <0.01) more common in children who associated previous abdominal complaints with milk intake and/or did not like milk. A negative hydrogen breath test was significantly ( p <0.05) more often observed in children who had diarrhoea in the previous week. Giardia was present in 18 (19 %) of 93 children. The incidence of giardiasis did not correlate with the presence of lactose malabsorption in children without diarrhoea in the previous week. However, milk intolerance presenting as diarrhoea was significantly ( p <0.05) more common in children with giardiasis. The findings support the use of physiological quantities of milk in Basotho school children.