Dairy Product Intake and Cardiometabolic Diseases in Northern Sweden : A 33-Year Prospective Cohort Study

• Published in: Nutrients
• Main Authors: Johansson, Ingegerd, Esberg, Anders, Nilsson, Lena Maria, Jansson, Jan-Håkan, Wennberg, Patrik, Winkvist, Anna
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Umeå universitet, Institutionen för odontologi 2019
• Subjects: dairy products; milk; cardiovascular disease; myocardial infarction; stroke; type 2 diabetes; Cardiac and Cardiovascular Systems; Kardiologi; Public Health; Global Health; Social Medicine and Epidemiology; Folkhälsovetenskap; global hälsa; socialmedicin och epidemiologi; Northern Sweden
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-156027; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11020284

Dairy products are important constituents of most diets, and their association with adverse health outcomes remains a focus. We characterized dairy food intake and examined associations with the incidence of type 2 diabetes (T2D), myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke among 108,065 Swedish men and women. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% CIs were estimated using the multivariable Cox proportional hazards models in a population characterized by high milk tolerance. During a mean follow-up of 14.2 years, 11,641 first-time events occurred. Non-fermented milk intake decreased, whereas butter intake increased over the period. For high intake of non-fermented milk, the HR (95% CI) for developing T2D and MI was 1.17 (1.03, 1.34) and 1.23 (1.10, 1.37), respectively, in men. A greater intake of butter, fermented milk, and cheese tended to be associated with a reduced risk of T2D and/or MI. Non-consumers and those who chose low-fat variants of the targeted dairy products had increased risk for T2D, MI, or stroke compared to those in the non-case group. Generally, effect-sizes were small. This prospective study found that non-fermented milk was associated with an increased risk for developing T2D and MI and that subjects abstaining from dairy products or choosing low-fat variants were at greater risk. However, the overall cardiometabolic risk of non-fermented milk intake was judged as low, since the effect sizes were small.