Associação dos níveis séricos de vitamina D e intolerância à lactose na síndrome metabólica

Abstract

Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency may be associated with the development of chronic noncommunicable diseases. One of the causes is the lower intake of source foods, such as dairy products, which in the presence of lactose intolerance, makes their consumption even more restricted. On the other hand, people with lactose intolerance who regularly consume lactose can promote intestinal inflammatory stimuli, contributing to the development of obesity, metabolic syndrome and low vitamin D bioavailability. Objective: The aim of this study is to verify the association between serum levels of vitamin D and lactose intolerance in metabolic syndrome individuals. Material and Methods: It is a cross-sectional study with 588 patients diagnosed with metabolic syndrome, divided into two groups: lactose tolerant and intolerant groups. In addition to collecting socioeconomic, clinical, nutritional and anthropometric information, tests were performed to diagnose the presence of vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency and to lactose tolerance. Data were tabulated in Excel, and statistical analysis were made using SPSS version 23.0. Results: There was a high prevalence of brown and black ethnicity (86%) with a significant association with lactose intolerance (p<0.014); the prevalence of vitamin D insufficiency was 50.2%, and 63.4% of the participants were intolerant. Serum levels of vitamin D were significantly associated with lactose intolerance (p<0.001) and body mass index (p< 0.001). Of the cofactors of metabolic syndrome, only glycemia was significantly associated with lactose intolerance (p<0.001), which may be due to the patients’s use of hypoglycemic drugs in this group (p<0.001). No significant results between serum levels of vitamin D and metabolic syndrome cofactors were found, as well as with vitamin D (p=0.828) and calcium (p=0.346) intake. Conclusion: Serum levels of vitamin D were associated with lactose intolerance in metabolic syndrome patients. However, more studies are required to investigate causality factors to better understand this association.