Lactose intolerance in adult celiac patients from north India.

Celiac disease is common in North India. Diarrhea and flatulence are common symptoms in these patients. Lactose intolerance may be one of the reasons of diarrhea & flatulence in celiac patients. This study was planned to find out the incidence of lactose intolerance in celiac disease patients and apparently healthy controls. 42 adult confirmed celiac patients were enrolled for this study. Celiac disease was confirmed by anti‐tissue transglutaminase (ttgA) measured by ELISA kit. 50 age sex matched apparently healthy controls were also enrolled. Non‐invasive lactose hydrogen breath test was done in all subjects after over night fast. Hydrogen concentration was measured by using SC Microlyzer from Quintron, USA. Out of 42 adult celiac patients, 20 were females and 22 were males while out of 50 healthy controls, 23 were females and 27 males. 28 out of 42 (66.6%) celiac patients were lactose intolerant, while in controls 21out of 50 (42.4 %) were lactose intolerant. This study suggests that lactose intolerance was significantly higher in adult celiac patients as compared to healthy controls. This work has been financially supported by the Department of Gastroenterology, PGIMER, Chandigarh, India,