Lactose malabsorption and lactose intolerance in adults - a cause of irritable bowel syndrome?

Abstract

Gastroenterologists and general practitioners see many patients that have abdominal symptoms which are not explained when the patients are investigated for celiac disease, inflammatory bowel disease, peptic ulcer or tumours. The diagnosis is irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Many of these patients report intolerance to certain foods including milk, and some develop symptoms after ingestion of lactose during the lactose tolerance test. In Northern European populations, lactose malabsorption is, however, not clearly overrepresented among the adult IBS patients, and subjective lactose intolerance is more common than IBS. Relatively few respond to a low-lactose diet on a long-term basis. Keywords: Irritable bowel syndrome, lactose intolerance, lactose malabsorption