Lactose malabsorption in Australian Aboriginal children.

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of lactose malabsorption in healthy full-blood Australian Aboriginal children. Sixty-three Aboriginal subjects and forty-six non-Aboriginal controls ranging in age from six to 14 years were tested using the breath hydrogen method. Seventy percent of the Aboriginal subjects were found to be lactose malabsorbers and 9% of the controls. The results provide strong evidence that the majority of full-blood Aboriginal children are lactose malabsorbers and that the characteristic is well-established by 6-7 years of age, in common with most other non-Western populations.