Rough rates of lactose intolerance in different regions of the world An estimate of the percentage of adults that can digest lactose in the indigenous population of the Old World Overall, about 65% of people experience some form of lactose intolerance as they age past infancy, but there are significant differences between populations and regions; rates are as low as 5% among northern Europeans and as high as over 90% of adults in some communities of Asia. Some populations, from an evolutionary perspective, have a better genetic makeup for tolerating lactose than others. In northern European countries, early adoption of dairy farming conferred a selective evolutionary advantage to individuals that could better tolerate lactose. This led to higher frequencies of these countries' people having a tolerance to lactose. Conversely, regions of the south, such as Africa, did not adopt dairy farming as early historically and therefore tolerance from milk consumption did not develop the same way as in northern European countries. Lactose intolerance is common among people of Jewish descent, as well as from West Africa, the Arab countries, Greece, and Italy. Different populations will present certain gene constructs depending on the evolutionary and cultural pre-settings of the geographical region.
medical cause of Malabsorption
medical cause of Protein losing enteropathy
medical cause of Bowel obstruction
complications of Malabsorption
medical cause of Malnutrition
medical cause of Abdominal pain
medical cause of Intestinal pseudo-obstruction
medical cause of Constipation