HOUSTON—The prevalence of lactose intolerance may be lower than previously suggested, according to data on self-reported lactose intolerance among a national sample of European American (EA), African American (AA), and Hispanic American (HA) adults.
According to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, between 30 and 50 million Americans have the potential for lactose intolerance symptoms.
For the study, a nationally representative sample of randomly selected telephone numbers were called, and 1,084 respondents between the ages of 19 and 70 years were interviewed ( 486 EAs, 355 AAs, and 243 Has). The age-adjusted lactose intolerance prevalence estimates were 7.72%, 19.50%, and 10.05% for EAs, AAs, and HAs, respectively. For all respondents in the sample, the crude and age-adjusted self-reported lactose intolerance prevalence rates were 13.38% and 12.04%, respectively. These results indicate that the prevalence of perceived lactose intolerance is significantly lower than what has been previously estimated.
"There's so much confusion surrounding lactose intolerance," says Theresa Nicklas, DrPH, of the USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine and lead study author. "By getting a better handle on the true number of people who deal with this condition every day, the nutrition community can be better equipped to educate and provide dietary guidance for Americans, including strategies to help meet dairy food recommendations for those who self-report lactose intolerance."