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Fructose Malabsorption May Be Gender Dependent and Fails to Show Compensation by Colonic Adaptation

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Abstract

Fructose malabsorption is linked to gastrointestinal and other unusual symptoms. Polymers of fructose are also recognized prebiotics. While some prebiotics can self-adapt when consumed regularly (resulting in decreased breath hydrogen and symptoms), we wondered whether self-adaptation occurs with basic fructose. We evaluated 90 subjects (61 females). Each completed a diet questionnaire and underwent a fructose challenge. Breath hydrogen and quantified symptom scores were recorded. Group comparisons for sum of breath hydrogen and total symptom scores were evaluated with the Mann-Whitney U test. Spearman’s correlation coefficient and χ2 or Fisher’s exact test were used as appropriate. Malabsorption occurred in 29 patients (32.2%) and low-grade symptoms without malabsorption in 30 (33%). Women complained of symptoms more frequently (p = 0.04) and exhibited more fructose malabsorption (p = 0.0527). Breath hydrogen correlated with symptoms (r = 0.516, p = 0.0037). Adaptation with increasing pretest fructose intake was absent. We conclude that gender may influence fructose malabsorption and there is no adaptation to regular consumption.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the expert secretarial and administrative services of Mr Albert Redman.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Andrew Szilagyi, Paula Malolepszy, Samara Yesovitch & Albert Cohen

  2. Department of Dietetics, Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Christina Vinokuroff & Usha Nathwani

  3. Department of Emergency Medicine, Sir Mortimer B. Davis Jewish General Hospital, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Xiaoqing Xue

  4. Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Sir Mortimer B Davis Jewish General Hospital, McGill University School of Medicine, 3755 chemin de la Côte-Ste-Catherine, H3T 1E2, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

    Andrew Szilagyi

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  1. Andrew Szilagyi
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Correspondence to Andrew Szilagyi.

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Szilagyi, A., Malolepszy, P., Yesovitch, S. et al. Fructose Malabsorption May Be Gender Dependent and Fails to Show Compensation by Colonic Adaptation. Dig Dis Sci 52, 2999–3004 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-006-9652-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10620-006-9652-9

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