Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-mp689 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T07:47:43.816Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Lactose digestion in pregnant African-Americans

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

David M Paige ,
Frank R Witter ,
Yvonne L Bronner ,
Lisa A Kessler ,
Jay A Perman  and
Tara R Paige
David M Paige*
Affiliation:
Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 North Broadway, Room 280, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Frank R Witter
Affiliation:
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD, USA
Yvonne L Bronner
Affiliation:
Maternal and Child Health Department, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
Lisa A Kessler
Affiliation:
Maternal and Child Health Department, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
Jay A Perman
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
Tara R Paige
Affiliation:
Maternal and Child Health Department, Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Underwood Memorial Hospital, Woodbury, NJ, USA
*
*Corresponding author: Email dpaige@jhsph.edu
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Objective:

This paper reports on the status of lactose digestion during early and late pregnancy and at 8 weeks postpartum in an African-American population. The hypothesis is that lactose digestion and milk tolerance do not change throughout pregnancy anddo not differ from those of non-pregnant African-American women.

Design and subjects:

This longitudinal study determined lactose digestion after ingesting 240 ml of 1% fat milk containing 12g of lactose at: (1) early pregnancy, prior to 16 weeks (n = 148); (2) late pregnancy, 30–35 weeks (n = 77); and (3) 8 weeks postpartum (n = 93). One hundred and one comparably matched non-pregnant African-American women served as controls.

Results:

Prevalence of lactose digestion, as measured by breath hydrogen, was 80.2% in the control women, 66.2% in early pregnancy, 68.8% in late pregnancy and 75.3% postpartum. The prevalence of women reporting symptoms was approximately 20% regardless of lactose absorption status. However, the control women reported significantly more symptoms than did the pregnant women.

Conclusions:

This study indicates that there is no significant change in lactose digestion during pregnancy. The prevalence of lactose intolerance for the pregnant African-American women studied is similar to that for non-pregnant African-American women and similar to previous prevalence reports in adult African-Americans. There was no change in the tolerance of lactose noted during pregnancy in these women. There were, however, fewer symptoms reported by the lactose-maldigesting pregnant women.

Keywords

LactoseLactose digestionLactose maldigestionPregnancyAfrican-American women
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 6 , Issue 8 , December 2003 , pp. 801 - 807
Copyright
Copyright © CAB International 2003

References

1Institute of Medicine (US) Subcommittee on Nutritional Status and Weight Gain During Pregnancy. Nutrition During Pregnancy Washington DC: National Academy of Sciences, 1990.Google Scholar
2Scrimshaw, NS, Murray, EB. The acceptability of milk and milk products in populations with a high prevalence of lactose intolerance. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1988; 48: 1079–159.Google Scholar
3Rush, D, Sloan, N, Leighton, J, Alvir, JM, Horvitz, DG, Seaver, WB, et al. The National WIC Evaluation: evaluation of the Special Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants, and Children. V. Longitudinal study of pregnant women. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1988; 48: 439–83.Google Scholar
4Paige, DM, Bayless, TM, Graham, GG. Pregnancy and lactose intolerance. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1973; 26: 238–40.Google Scholar
5Tandon, RK, Goel, U, Mukherjee, SN, Pandey, SC, Lal, K. Lactose intolerance during pregnancy in different Indian communities. Indian Journal of Medical Research 1977; 66(1): 33–8.Google Scholar
6Villar, J, Kestler, E, Castillo, P, Juarez, A, Menendez, R, Solomons, NW. Improved lactose digestion during pregnancy: a case of physiologic adaptation?. Obstetrics and Gynecology 1988; 71: 697–700.Google Scholar
7Szilagyi, A, Salomon, R, Martin, M, Fokeeff, K, Seidman, E. Lactose handling by women with lactose malabsorption is improved during pregnancy. Clinical and Investigative Medicine 1996; 19(6): 416–26.Google ScholarPubMed
8Perman, JA, Barr, RB, Watkins, JB. Sucrose malabsorption in children; non-invasive diagnosis by interval breath hydrogen determination. Journal of Pediatrics 1978; 93: 17–22.Google Scholar
9Romagnuolo, J, Schiller, D, Bailey, RJ. Using breath tests wisely in a gastroenterology practice: an evidence-based review of indications and pitfalls in interpretation. American Journal of Gastroenterology 2002; 97(5): 1113–26.Google Scholar
10Bayless, TM, Rosensweig, NS. A racial difference in the incidence of lactase deficiency. Journal of the American Medical Association 1966; 197: 968–72.Google Scholar
11Johnson, AO, Semenya, JG, Buchowski, MS, Enwonwu, CO, Scrimshaw, NS. Adaptation of lactose maldigesters to continued milk intakes. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1993; 58: 879–81.Google Scholar
12Parry, E, Shields, R, Turnbull, AC. Transit time in the small intestine during pregnancy. Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of the British Commonwealth 1970; 77: 900–1.Google Scholar
13Labayen, I, Forga, L, Gonzalez, A, Lenoir-Wijnkoop, I, Nutr, R, Martinez, JA. Relationship between lactose digestion, gastrointestinal transit time and symptoms in lactose malabsorbers after dairy consumption. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics 2001; 15(4): 543–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14Newcomer, AD. Immediate symptomatic and long-term nutritional consequences of hypolactasia.In: Paige, DM, Bayless, TM, eds. Lactose Digestion: Clinical and Nutritional Implications. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981; 124–33.Google Scholar
15Rao, DR, Bello, H, Warren, AP, Brown, GE. Prevalence of lactose maldigestion. Digestive Diseases and Sciences 1994; 39: 1519–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16Bayless, TM. Lactose malabsorption, milk intolerance, and symptom awareness in adults. In: Paige, DM, Bayless, TM, eds. Lactose Digestion: Clinical and Nutritional Implications. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1981; 117–23.Google Scholar
17Kingfisher, CP, Millard, AV. ‘Milk makes me sick but my body needs it’: conflict and contradiction in the establishment of authoritative knowledge. Medical Anthropology Quarterly 1998; 12(4): 447–66.Google Scholar