Lactose Malabsorption in Finnish-speaking and Swedish-speaking Populations in Finland

Abstract

Sahi, T. Lactose malabsorption in Finnish-speaking and Swedish-speaking populations in Finland. Scand. J. Gastroent. 1974, 9, 303-308.

Lactose malabsorption (LM) was examined in 156 Finnish-speakir.g and 91 Swedish-speaking students both of whose parents and at least three of whose grandparents spoke the same language as the students themselves. Students and their parents were born in Helsinki, and they were considered to represent the mixed Finnish-speaking and Swedish-speaking populations in Finland. A simple lactose tolerance test with ethanol administration (LTTE) was performed on all those examined. A serum galactose concentration of 10 mg/100 ml or more was considered to indicate normal lactose absorption. In persons with a galactose concentration of 0-9 mg/100 ml, LM was verified by a complete LTTE in which both serum glucose and galactose concentrations were determined. According to the criteria used, 27 Finnish-speaking and 7 Swedish-speaking students had LM. This gave prevalences of LM of 17.3% and 7.7% and the frequencies of LM gene of 0.416 and 0.277 among the Finnish-speaking and the Swedish-speaking populations of Finland, respectively. The difference between gene frequencies was statistically significant. The result fits the genetic nature of LM, and the knowledge that the Swedish-speaking population in Finland is a mixture derived from the Finnish-speaking population in Finland and the population in Sweden (LM frequency under 0.100).

Key-words::

• Lactose malabsorption
• population genetics
• small intestine