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Risk factors

By Mayo Clinic staff

Factors 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.
  • Certain cancer treatments. If you have received radiation therapy for cancer in your abdomen or have intestinal complications from chemotherapy, you have an increased risk of lactose intolerance.
References
  1. Montgomery RK, et al. Lactose intolerance. http://www.uptodate.com/index. Accessed Jan. 29, 2012.
  2. Lactose intolerance. National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/lactoseintolerance/. Accessed Jan. 29, 2012.
  3. Siddiqui Z. Selected disorders of malabsorption. Primary Care: Clinics Office Practice. 2011;38:395.
  4. Marchiondo K. Lactose intolerance: A nursing perspective. Medsurg Nursing. 2009;18:9.
  5. 5. Lactose intolerance and health. Rockville, Md.: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/tp/lactinttp.htm. Accessed Jan. 29, 2012.
  6. Shaukat A, et al. Systematic review: Effective management strategies for lactose intolerance. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2010;152:797.
  7. Picco MF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla. Feb. 6, 2012.
DS00530 April 4, 2012

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