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Risk factors

By Mayo Clinic staff

A few risk factors can make you or your child more prone to lactose intolerance:

  • Age. Lactose intolerance usually starts after age 5 — the condition is uncommon in babies and young children. A child with chronic diarrhea before age 1 usually has another underlying problem.
  • Ethnicity. Lactose intolerance is more common in certain ethnic and racial populations. Lactose intolerance is more common in black, Asian, Hispanic and American Indian populations.
  • Premature birth. Infants born prematurely (28 to 32 weeks of gestation) may have reduced levels of lactase, because this enzyme increases in the fetus late in the third trimester.

DS00530

Feb. 16, 2008

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