This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services E-mail this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My File Cabinet Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via CrossRef Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Duro, D. Articles by Lifshitz, F. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Duro, D. Articles by Lifshitz, F. Related Collections Nutrition & Metabolism Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

PEDIATRICS Vol. 109 No. 5 May 2002, pp. 797-805

Association Between Infantile Colic and Carbohydrate Malabsorption From Fruit Juices in Infancy

Debora Duro, MD, MS, Russell Rising, PhD^,a, Maribel Cedillo, BS and Fima Lifshitz, MD

From the Research Institute, Miami Children’s Hospital, Miami, Florida

--> Objective. To determine whether infantile colic (IC) is associated with malabsorption of carbohydrates present in fruit juices.

Methods. In this double-blind study, parents of 30 healthy infants (5.1 ± 0.7 months, 7.4 ± 1.0 kg, 64 ± 4 cm) were administered a questionnaire to quantitatively assess IC. Thereafter, they were divided into 2 groups, 16 infants with and 14 without IC. Within each treatment group infants were fed 120 mL (16.3 ± 2.0 mL/kg) of either white grape (sorbitol-free; 1:1 fructose-to-glucose ratio) or apple (sorbitol 0.5 g/dL; 2.6:1 fructose-to-glucose ratio) juice. Physical activity (PA), energy expenditure (EE), crying, and sleeping times were measured for 0.5 and 3.0 hours before and after juice feeding, respectively, using the Enhanced Metabolic Testing Activity Chamber. Carbohydrate malabsorption was determined by breath hydrogen (BH₂) gas analysis after juice feedings. Statistical differences between groups were determined by 2-way analysis of variance with the Tukey procedure.

Results. Infants with IC fed apple juice exhibited carbohydrate malabsorption as shown by increased BH₂ excretion, whereas those without IC absorbed carbohydrates normally when fed this juice. Infants fed apple juice with carbohydrate malabsorption cried more and consequently slept less during the last 1.5 hours of the study. This was associated with increased PA and EE as compared with infants without IC fed apple juice. In contrast, infants fed white grape juice, regardless of IC, showed no increase in BH₂ excretion, PA, and EE. Furthermore, crying and sleeping times were unchanged in infants fed white grape juice regardless of the presence or absence of IC.

Conclusions. IC was associated with carbohydrate malabsorption from fruit juices containing sorbitol and a high fructose-to-glucose ratio.

Key Words: infantile colic • carbohydrate malabsorption • breath hydrogen excretion • energy expenditure • physical activity • fruit juice

Abbreviations: IC, infantile colic • BH₂, breath hydrogen • PA, physical activity • EMTAC, Enhanced Metabolic Testing Activity Chamber • EE, energy expenditure • GER, gastroesophogeal reflux • MI, milk intolerance • URI, upper respiratory infection

---

Received for publication Jun 8, 2001; Accepted Nov 26, 2001.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Facebook    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				A Whittaker, A E Currie, M A Turner, D J Field, H Mulla, and H C Pandya Toxic additives in medication for preterm infants Arch. Dis. Child. Fetal Neonatal Ed., July 1, 2009; 94(4): F236 - F240. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				V. Douard and R. P. Ferraris Regulation of the fructose transporter GLUT5 in health and disease Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, August 1, 2008; 295(2): E227 - E237. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. E. O'Neil and T. A. Nicklas A Review of the Relationship Between 100% Fruit Juice Consumption and Weight in Children and Adolescents American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, July 1, 2008; 2(4): 315 - 354. [Abstract] [PDF]

				M R Rao, R A Brenner, E F Schisterman, T Vik, and J L Mills Long term cognitive development in children with prolonged crying Arch. Dis. Child., November 1, 2004; 89(11): 989 - 992. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				X.-L. Cui, P. Soteropoulos, P. Tolias, and R. P. Ferraris Fructose-responsive genes in the small intestine of neonatal rats Physiol Genomics, July 8, 2004; 18(2): 206 - 217. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]