Milk consumption and lactose intolerance in adults.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate relations between milk consumption and lactose intolerance (LI) in adults and to explore the effect of milk consumption on lactase activity.

METHODS

Total of 182 subjects aged 20-70 years were recruited and interviewed by questionnaires, and their accumulative cow's milk intake (AMI) was calculated. LI was evaluated by hydrogen breath test (HBT).

RESULTS

A negative correlation was found between AMI and severity of observed LI symptom (r=-0.2884; P<0.05). Binary logistic regression analysis showed a negative correlation between LI and duration and frequency of milk consumption (OR, 0.317 and 0.465, respectively; both P<0.05) and a positive correlation between LI and amount of milk consumed per sitting (OR, 6.337; P<0.05).

CONCLUSION

LI is related to various milk consumption behaviors. Most Chinese adults with LI may tolerate moderate milk consumption <160 mL.