Lactose Intolerance Prevalence in North Macedonia

A common cause of gastrointestinal complaint in humans is abnormal digestion of the milk sugar lactose. Lactose intolerance occurs when the gastrointestinal system is unable to digest the milk sugar lactose. Primary hypolactasia is one of the main causes of lactose intolerance. Genetic testing is used for primary lactose intolerance. It is associated with two polymorphisms:13910 C>T and 22018 G>A in the lactase phlorizin hydrolase gene (LPH). The gene is located in locus 2q21 and the polymorphism is detected by testing DNA (white blood cell isolate) obtained from blood or saliva samples. The aim of this study was therefore to determine the presence of the 13910 T>C polymorphism in North Macedonian individuals with abdominal symptoms. We analyzed the results of one hundred and sixty patients with abdominal symptoms who had been tested for the most common mutation 13910 T>C in the promoter of the LPH gene. The test was performed using real-time PCR (FLASH technique). The results showed that the prevalence of genotype CC (LCT-13910C/T), which is associated with hypolactasia, is very high in the Macedonian population. Lactose intolerance is most common in people of East Asian descent. In the European population, this condition differs between the northern countries with a tolerance level of over 70% and the other parts of Europe, especially in southern Europe, to which Macedonia geographically belongs, as well as Turkey, Greece and Italy, where a higher percentage of people are affected.