Low or lactose-free milk powder for lactose intolerance in infants
What it found
In 10 randomised trials in infants with lactose intolerance, low or lactose-free milk powder alongside usual treatment worked better than usual treatment alone.
The authors say the evidence is not strong.
What they found
Studies in people
Clinical effectiveness
Across all 10 trials, more infants given low or lactose-free milk powder improved than those given usual treatment alone. The authors call this difference statistically significant.
Length of illness
The trials that reported it found the illness was shorter in infants given low or lactose-free milk powder than in those given usual treatment alone.
Time to stop diarrhoea
The trials that reported it found diarrhoea stopped sooner in infants given low or lactose-free milk powder than in those given usual treatment alone.
Other findings
Trial quality
All 10 trials had some risk of bias. Only 2 described how infants were randomly assigned, only 2 clearly used blinding, and the treatment plans and cure criteria differed between trials.
Nutrition concern
The authors warn that lactose is a main energy source for infants, and long-term low-sugar feeding can lead to malnutrition and slow development. They say nutrition should be watched when using this approach.
What the authors conclude
“Low/lactose-free milk powder can improve clinical efficacy and shorten the course of treatment in infants with lactose intolerance, which can be demonstrated by further large-scale clinical studies.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that low or lactose-free milk powder can improve clinical effectiveness and shorten treatment in infants with lactose intolerance.
- They advise that the nutrition intake of children should be paid attention to when using this approach.
- They say their conclusions still need to be verified by more high-quality, large-sample randomised controlled studies.
How it was done
The authors wanted to see whether low or lactose-free milk powder helps infants with lactose intolerance, and to give doctors a basis for using it. They say no systematic review on this had been done.
They pooled 10 randomised controlled trials with 1112 infants, 562 given low or lactose-free milk powder plus usual treatment and 550 given usual treatment alone. The trials were published in Chinese and were found in databases up to early 2023.
What it can’t tell you
- The included trials were small and of uneven quality, so the results may change with better research.
- The trials used different treatment plans and cure criteria, which may affect the results.
- This analysis cannot show whether low or lactose-free milk powder is safe or suitable for long-term use in infants.
Who paid
- Conflicts
- The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.
- Authors work at
- Xinjiang Medical University, China
The paper
- Title
- The efficacy of low/lactose-free milk powder in the treatment of lactose intolerance in infants: A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Aierken K, Xu Z, Ma J, Kawuli G (2024). The efficacy of low/lactose-free milk powder in the treatment of lactose intolerance in infants: A protocol for systematic review and meta analysis. Medicine. doi:10.1097/MD.0000000000039098Free full textPubMed 39093773DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error