Everyday Breath Hydrogen Excretion Profile in Japanese Young Female Students

A breath hydrogen test has been used widely as a noninvasive and simple method of detecting carbohydrate malabsorption as well as estimation of the small intestinal and orocecal transit time. By means of this method, we have examined the change in breath hydrogen concentration of young female students in their everyday life in order to reveal the breath hydrogen excretion profile under normal circumstances. In this survey, we have asked them to collect their own breath samples every one-hour as regularly as possible during one day from awakening until bedtime. We also asked them to complete the questionnaire concerning their dietary habit, dietary record and physical activities. Among the 43 subjects who gave the breath hydrogen records, 37 subjects excreted detectable hydrogen into their alveolar air. By comparing the changes in breath hydrogen concentration during the time of day, breath hydrogen excretions could be classified into two distinct patterns; more than half of the total hydrogen excretion occurred in the first half of the waking hours (designated as "pattern A", 18 cases) and in the latter half (designated as "pattern B", 19 cases). Taking into consideration the subjects' records of diets and physical activities, the early-pronounced breath hydrogen excretion observed among 18 "pattern A" students was probably resulted from the malabsorption of the dietary carbohydrate in the breakfast meals.