Related Experiment Videos
[Hypolactasia in Japanese Crohn's patients]
Summary
Primary adult hypolactasia is more common in Crohn's disease patients than healthy individuals. This lactose malabsorption condition affects over 80% of Crohn's patients, particularly those with small intestine involvement.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Human Physiology
- Nutritional Science
Context:
- Lactose malabsorption, or hypolactasia, is a common condition.
- Primary adult hypolactasia prevalence varies across populations.
- Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract.
Purpose:
- To investigate the frequency of primary adult hypolactasia in Crohn's disease patients compared to healthy volunteers.
- To evaluate the diagnostic performance of the breath hydrogen test (BHT) and lactose tolerance test (LTT) for hypolactasia.
Summary:
- This study assessed hypolactasia using a 20g lactose load, BHT, and LTT in 32 Crohn's disease patients and 51 healthy volunteers.
- Hypolactasia was defined by a >20 ppm rise in breath hydrogen or significant blood sugar increase during LTT.
- Higher rates of hypolactasia were observed in Crohn's disease patients (83.3% by BHT, 83.3% by LTT) compared to healthy volunteers (50% by BHT, 72.5% by LTT).
- Small intestine type Crohn's disease showed significantly higher hypolactasia rates (91.6% by BHT, 92.3% by LTT) than healthy controls, while large intestine type showed no difference.
Impact:
- Findings suggest a strong association between hypolactasia and Crohn's disease, particularly the small intestine subtype.
- Increased prevalence of lactose malabsorption in CD patients may impact nutritional management and symptom exacerbation.
- Highlights the need to consider hypolactasia screening in Crohn's disease patients for improved clinical outcomes.