Does sucrase deficiency in black South Africans protect against colonic disease?
The spectrum of non-infectious gastrointestinal disease in black Africans is different from that amongst whites living in Africa or elsewhere. Colon cancer, colonic polyps, appendicitis, and inflammatory bowel disease are rare in black Africans. 1 In the Soweto township of Johannesburg in South Africa, black Africans have been living in an urban environment for one or two generations. A more westernised lifestyle has been adopted compared with rural Africans, including the adoption of a relatively …
