The Adult Carbohydrate Perception Questionnaire Identifies Patients with Lactose or Fructose Intolerance Who Respond to Diet

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Plain Language SummaryIntolerance to lactose- or fructose-containing foods is an important reason for diarrhoea, bloating, gas in the abdomen, abdominal pain, nausea, and passing of wind through the anus. In the past, in order to diagnose intolerance, breath tests after ingestion of lactose or fructose have commonly been used, and the results of these breath tests had been used to suggest treatments like diet or food supplements. However, recent scientific publications have shown that the results of breath tests do not predict the response to treatment. It has also been suggested that the documentation of symptoms after ingestion of lactose or fructose with a questionnaire may be better in identifying patients who will benefit from treatment. Such a questionnaire was recently developed and shown to be reliable and useful for the diagnosis of lactose or fructose intolerance. The questionnaire is called adult Carbohydrate Perception Questionnaire (aCPQ). In the current study, we demonstrated that patients with intolerance to lactose or fructose, which was confirmed by a positive result on this aCPQ, benefited significantly from the dietary treatment. The degree of symptom improvement was greatest in patients with the most severe symptoms before treatment. The response to treatment in intolerance was independent of whether or not patients had a positive breath test. The results of this study, however, are preliminary and need to be confirmed by larger controlled studies.