close window
Housecall Archives
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
close window
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Risk factors
By Mayo Clinic staffFactors that can make you or your child more prone to lactose intolerance include:
- Increasing age. Lactose intolerance becomes more common as you age — the condition is uncommon in babies and young children.
- Ethnicity. Lactose intolerance is most common in black, Asian, Hispanic and American Indian people.
- Premature birth. Infants born prematurely may have reduced levels of lactase, because this enzyme increases in the fetus late in the third trimester.
- Diseases affecting the small intestine. Small intestine problems that can cause lactose intolerance include bacterial overgrowth, celiac disease and Crohn's disease.
- Radiation to the abdomen. If you've received radiation therapy for cancer in your abdomen, you have an increased risk of lactose intolerance.
References
- Lactose intolerance. In: Ferri FF. Ferri's Clinical Advisor 2010. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/178347893-5/0/2088/0.html. Accessed Jan. 14, 2010.
- Marchiondo K. Lactose intolerance: A nursing perspective. Medsurg Nursing. 2009;18:9.
- Lomer MCE, et al. Review article: Lactose intolerance in clinical practice - Myths and realities. Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 2008;27:93.
- Lactose intolerance. National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/lactoseintolerance/index.htm. Accessed Jan. 14, 2010.
- Lactose intolerance. American Gastroenterological Association. http://www.gastro.org/wmspage.cfm?parm1=854. Accessed Jan. 14, 2010.
Find Mayo Clinic on