Pedigree analysis of sucrose intolerance among Native Alaskans

Sucrose intolerance, the inability to digest sugar, has been found to be unusually frequent among North Alaskan Inupiat. It is conjectured that this rare hereditary condition reached elevated levels due in part to the small, rather isolated population structure characterizing traditional Inupiat settlement patterns. An additional factor was likely to be a form of "selection relaxation" in which sucrose intolerance was not selected against during precontact times when the Inupiat diet consisted primarily of animal foods. An attempt was made to trace genealogical connections between pedigree containing cases of sucrose intolerance. This proved to be mostly unsuccessful due to insufficient information. It calls for researchers to make exerted efforts to obtain pertinent family history data along with extended pedigree records. Sucrose intolerance, while affecting relatively few persons, can lead to health problems, particularly if there is limited dietary choice. This is likely to be the situation among North Alaskan populations where sugar has become a major constituent in their acculturated diet.