Abstract
We investigated the milk-drinking habits in a population with a high frequency of lactose maldigestion to establish the clinical (rather than biochemical) importance of this condition. The occurrence of symptoms after milk intake was established. The research took place at a rural hospital and school in Bophuthatswana. The relevance to lifestyle of milk intolerance was established using symptoms reported in a quesfionnaire by 486 subjects, and symptom scores were calculated after standard milk meals for 92 subjects. A further 32 hospitalized children, age three to seven years, had symptom scores calculated after they underwent milk tolerance tests. Although only 38% of teenagers had no symptoms after a 500-ml milk meal, almost 80% had previously ascribed no symptoms to milk drinking. A higher proportion (61 %) of younger children had no symptoms after a standard milk meal. The symptoms produced by lactose maldigestion were not very troublesome in this population. Most lactose maldigesters said they would continue drinking milk, and only 20% of those who suffered symptoms stated they would not Subjects with a symptom score of 3 or more (out of 12) and those who reported bloating tended to drink less milk than others. The total symptom score (>3) or the severity of bloating (2 or 3 out of a possible 3) influenced subjects to assert that they would reduce future milk consumption. Symptoms were less likely to occur in younger children, 61% having no symptoms after a large milk load, compared with 38% of teenagers.