Aim. The aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between exogamy degree and lactose assimialation among the population of Eastern Ukraine in the Kharkiv region. Methods. The analysis included information on consumption and assimilation of milk and dairy products by 733 people aged from 14 to 79 years were. Statistical analysis included Shapiro-Wilk test, Pearson fitting (χ2) criterion and Spearman’s correlation analysis. Results. The lactose tolerance (LT) phenotype was found in 69.5%, whereas lactose intolerance (LI) – in 8.8% (from 3.5% to 24.1% in different age groups). In the age group 30-39 years: LI frequency was 24.1% being 2.5-6 times higher than in other groups. The exogamy degree of parents (EDP) showed in the group aged from 30 to 39 years the first EDP was 15.4%, being 1.4-2.5 times less (p = 0,05) than in other groups. Among people with bone marrow disorders the proportion of people with the first and second EDP was 60.9%, being 2.1 to 6.0 times higher than in other groups. Reduced EDP or increased inbreeding level causes the similarity of the chromosomes and affects the density of contact points between them during meiosis, level of recombination can be increased and associated with multifactorial traits. Conclusions. The results can be explained by the effect of the inbreeding level reduction in the presence of a high level of exogamy of parents, which causes high genetic diversity. Keywords: lactose intolerance, lactose tolerance, exogamy degree of parents, single nucleotide polymorphisms 13910C-T and 22018G-A, gene МСМ6.

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Aim. The aim of this study was evaluation of the genetic aspects of lactase persistence (LP) in persons from different ethnic groups. Methods. Genealogical and medical information was collected about Ukrainian, Indian, Nigerian, Israel, Egypt, Palestine, Turkey, Jordan students (n=361) and their first degree relatives (n=413). Statistical analysis was carried out by Shapiro-Wilk test, χ2, Spearman correlation. Results. The phenotype of LP was found in 69.9 % of Ukrainians, lactose intolerance - in 7.2 %. The highest LP is observed in 95.2 % of Nigerians, the lowest - Palestinians, 51.9 %. Analysis in all ethnic groups showed that the number of LP people is less among parents than among students (r = - 0.529, p <0.05). The LP score is 72.7 - 95.2 % among Nigerian, Israeli, Egyptian, Turkish, Indian students, and 60 - 76.5 % among their parents. The LP phenotype is 50 – 68.8 % and 53.9 – 70.9 % among Ukrainian, Palestinian Jordanian students and their parents. It is likely that adult-type hypolactasia may appear after 20 years and older, indicating a high degree of heterozygosity. The highest number of persons with first exogamy degree is 82.6-85.5 % among Turks, Palestinians, Egyptians and the lowest value of LP phenotype is observed in these groups - 51.9 - 72.3 %, (r = – 0.786, p<0.05). A positive correlation is determined between the traits of hypolactasia and first degree of parents exogamy (r = 0.905, p<0.05). The changes in metabolic status with age could be a predictor for multifactorial pathology. Conclusions. Adult hypolactasia is an age-dependent trait. Relations between the parameters of LP and the origin were established. Keywords: lactase persistence, lactose intolerance, exogamy, genotypes.