The management of lactose intolerance among primary care physicians and its correlation with management by gastroenterologists: the SEPD-SEMG national survey

• Main Authors: Federico Argüelles-Arias, Pilar Rodríguez-Ledo, José María Tenías, Mercedes Otero, Francesc Casellas, Guadalupe Blay-Cortés, Alfredo Lucendo, José Luis Domínguez-Jiménez, Fernando Carballo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Aran Ediciones 2015-09-01
• Series: Revista Espanola de Enfermedades Digestivas
• Subjects: Intolerancia a lactosa; SEPD; Médicos de familia; Médicos de atención primaria; Encuesta; Manejo de la intolerancia a lactosa; Hipolactasia
• Online Access: http://scielo.isciii.es/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1130-01082015000900006&lng=en&tlng=en

Introduction and aims: The understanding of lactose intolerance (LI) is limited in some professional settings. Sociedad Española de Patología Digestiva (SEPD) and Sociedad Española de Medicina General (SEMG) have developed a survey in order to: a) Analyze primary care physicians (PCPs) knowledge and clinical management; and b) to compare results with those of a previous survey of Spanish gastroenterologists (GEs). Material and methods: An online questionnaire was sent to SEMG members with 27 items on various issues: Demographics, occupational characteristics, outlook on LI, diagnostic tests, treatment, and follow-up. Results were compared to those from a survey of GEs. Results: A total of 456 PCPs responded, versus 477 GEs. PCPs had an older mean age and longer professional experience. Level of understanding of LI was similar, albeit a higher proportion of PCPs lacked epidemiological awareness (p < 0.01). GEs tended to consider LI a "minor" condition (71.3 vs. 40.1%; p > 0.001), and LI symptoms as overlapping those of irritable bowel syndrome (93.5 vs. 88.2%; p = 0.005), although symptoms perceived as suspicious of LI were similar in both groups. Dietary recommendations were recognized as the primary therapeutic approach. Conclusion: This study reveals the outlook of PCPs on LI, and allows comparison with that of GEs, as a basis for the development of strategies aimed at improving LI understanding, approach and management in our setting.