Dairy consumption and cardiometabolic diseases: systematic review and updated meta-analyses of prospective cohort studies

Purpose of Review Dairy products contain both beneficial and harmful nutrients in relation to cardiometabolic diseases. Here, we provide the latest scientific evidence regarding the relationship between dairy products and cardiometabolic diseases by reviewing the literature and updating meta-analyses of observational studies. Recent Findings We updated our previous meta-analyses of cohort studies on type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease (CHD), and stroke with nine studies and confirmed previous results. Total dairy and low-fat dairy (per 200 g/d) were inversely associated with a 3–4% lower risk of diabetes. Yogurt was non-linearly inversely associatedwith diabetes (RR = 0.86, 95%CI: 0.83–0.90 at 80 g/ d). Total dairy and milk were not associated with CHD (RR~1.0). An increment of 200 g of daily milk intake was associated with an 8% lower risk of stroke. Summary The latest scientific evidence confirmed neutral or beneficial associations between dairy products and risk of cardiometabolic diseases

Milk intake and incident stroke and CHD in populations of European descent: a Mendelian randomisation study.

Higher milk intake has been associated with a lower stroke risk, but not with risk of CHD. Residual confounding or reverse causation cannot be excluded. Therefore, we estimated the causal association of milk consumption with stroke and CHD risk through instrumental variable (IV) and gene-outcome analyses. IV analysis included 29 328 participants (4611 stroke; 9828 CHD) of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-CVD (eight European countries) and European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Netherlands (EPIC-NL) case-cohort studies. rs4988235, a lactase persistence (LP) SNP which enables digestion of lactose in adulthood was used as genetic instrument. Intake of milk was first regressed on rs4988235 in a linear regression model. Next, associations of genetically predicted milk consumption with stroke and CHD were estimated using Prentice-weighted Cox regression. Gene-outcome analysis included 777 024 participants (50 804 cases) from MEGASTROKE (including EPIC-CVD), UK Biobank and EPIC-NL for stroke, and 483 966 participants (61 612 cases) from CARDIoGRAM, UK Biobank, EPIC-CVD and EPIC-NL for CHD. In IV analyses, each additional LP allele was associated with a higher intake of milk in EPIC-CVD (β = 13·7 g/d; 95 % CI 8·4, 19·1) and EPIC-NL (36·8 g/d; 95 % CI 20·0, 53·5). Genetically predicted milk intake was not associated with stroke (HR per 25 g/d 1·05; 95 % CI 0·94, 1·16) or CHD (1·02; 95 % CI 0·96, 1·08). In gene-outcome analyses, there was no association of rs4988235 with risk of stroke (OR 1·02; 95 % CI 0·99, 1·05) or CHD (OR 0·99; 95 % CI 0·95, 1·03). Current Mendelian randomisation analysis does not provide evidence for a causal inverse relationship between milk consumption and stroke or CHD risk

Estimated substitution of tea or coffee for sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with lower type 2 diabetes incidence in case-cohort analysis across 8 European countries in the epic-interact study.

INTRODUCTION: Beverage consumption is a modifiable risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D), but there is insufficient evidence to inform the suitability of substituting 1 type of beverage for another. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to estimate the risk of T2D when consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) was replaced with consumption of fruit juice, milk, coffee, or tea. METHODS: In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-InterAct case-cohort study of 8 European countries (n = 27,662, with 12,333 cases of incident T2D, 1992-2007), beverage consumption was estimated at baseline by dietary questionnaires. Using Prentice-weighted Cox regression adjusting for other beverages and potential confounders, we estimated associations of substituting 1 type of beverage for another on incident T2D. RESULTS: Mean ± SD of estimated consumption of SSB was 55 ± 105 g/d. Means ± SDs for the other beverages were as follows: fruit juice, 59 ± 101 g/d; milk, 209 ± 203 g/d; coffee, 381 ± 372 g/d; and tea, 152 ± 282 g/d. Substituting coffee for SSBs by 250 g/d was associated with a 21% lower incidence of T2D (95% CI: 12%, 29%). The rate difference was -12.0 (95% CI: -20.0, -5.0) per 10,000 person-years among adults consuming SSBs ≥250 g/d (absolute rate = 48.3/10,000). Substituting tea for SSBs was estimated to lower T2D incidence by 22% (95% CI: 15%, 28%) or -11.0 (95% CI: -20.0, -2.6) per 10,000 person-years, whereas substituting fruit juice or milk was estimated not to alter T2D risk significantly. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate a potential benefit of substituting coffee or tea for SSBs for the primary prevention of T2D and may help formulate public health recommendations on beverage consumption in different populations

Consumption of individual saturated fatty acids and the risk of myocardial infarction in a UK and a Danish cohort

Abstract Background: The effect of individual saturated fatty acids (SFAs) on serum cholesterol levels depends on their carbon-chain length. Whether the association with myocardial infarction (MI) also differs across individual SFAs is unclear. We examined the association between consumption of individual SFAs, differing in chain lengths ranging from 4 through 18 carbons, and risk of MI. Methods: We used data from 22050 and 53375 participants from EPIC-Norfolk (UK) and EPIC-Denmark, respectively. Baseline SFA intakes were assessed through validated, country-specific food frequency questionnaires. Cox regression analysis was used to estimate associations between intakes of individual SFAs and MI risk, for each cohort separately. Results: During median follow-up times of 18.8 years in EPIC-Norfolk and 13.6 years in Denmark, respectively, 1204 and 2260 MI events occurred. Mean (±SD) total SFA intake was 13.3 (±3.5) en% in EPIC-Norfolk, and 12.5 (±2.6) en% in EPIC-Denmark. After multivariable adjustment, intakes of C12:0 (lauric acid) and C14:0 (myristic acid) inversely associated with MI risk in EPIC-Denmark (HR upper versus lowest quintile: 0.80 (95%CI:0.66,0.96) for both SFAs). Intakes in the third and fourth quintiles of C4:0-C10:0 also associated with lower MI risk in EPIC-Denmark. Moreover, substitution of C16:0 (palmitic acid) and C18:0 (stearic acid) with plant proteins resulted in a reduction of MI risk in EPIC-Denmark (HR per 1 energy%: 0.86 (95%CI:0.78,0.95) and 0.87 (95%CI:0.79,0.96) respectively). No such associations were found in EPIC-Norfolk. Conclusion: The results from the present study suggest that the association between SFA and MI risk depends on the carbon chain-length of the SFA.EPIC-Norfolk: All authors report programme grants from Cancer Research UK (C864/A8257, C864/A14136) and the Medical Research Council (MRC) (G0401527, G1000143) during the study. NJW is also supported by the MRC (grant numbers MC_UU_12015/3, MC_UU_12015/4). 2 EPIC-Denmark: The primary data collection for the Diet, Cancer and Health cohort was funded by the Danish Cancer Society

Lipids and cardiovascular disease risks with a focus on dairy foods

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) remain a major cause of death and morbidity worldwide and dietary guidelines aim to restrict the intake of saturated fatty acids (SFA) as they have been regarded as an important risk factor for CVD due to of their association with increased blood cholesterol. Since dairy foods are often the major contributors of dietary SFA, there have been guidelines to reduce consumption of these foods. However it is now generally accepted that the effects of dietary SFA are not simple and can be influenced by their source and food matrices. Also the effect of reducing SFA intake is best interpreted by a knowledge of what replaces them. Reduced CVD risk has been associated with replacement of SFA with cis-polyunsaturated fatty acids (cis-PUFA) and/or cis-monounsaturated fatty acids (cis-MUFA), with replacement by carbohydrate leading to no reduction or even increased CVD risk. Most studies on the effect of diet/food on CVD risk have used total cholesterol (TC) and/ or low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in blood as the marker(s) of risk. However, because of potentially attenuating effects of dairy foods (e.g. effect of protein on blood lipids and blood pressure; food matrix effects on fat bioavailability) a wider range of markers is needed to more fully evaluate disease risk. Nevertheless, whilst prospective evidence shows no increase in CVD risk from high dairy consumption, it is still uncertain whether replacing a proportion of SFA in dairy fat with cis-MUFA will consistently lead to reduced CVD risk. The relatively few randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that have examined this using TC and/or LDL-C as risk markers give an indications of benefit and the results of a recent RCT give stronger support to this

Dairy product intake and risk of type 2 diabetes in EPIC-InterAct: a mendelian randomization study.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the causal association between intake of dairy products and incident type 2 diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The analysis included 21,820 European individuals (9,686 diabetes cases) of the EPIC-InterAct case-cohort study. Participants were genotyped, and rs4988235 (LCT-12910C&gt;T), a SNP for lactase persistence (LP) which enables digestion of dairy sugar, i.e., lactose, was imputed. Baseline dietary intakes were assessed with diet questionnaires. We investigated the associations between imputed SNP dosage for rs4988235 and intake of dairy products and other foods through linear regression. Mendelian randomization (MR) estimates for the milk-diabetes relationship were obtained through a two-stage least squares regression. RESULTS: Each additional LP allele was associated with a higher intake of milk (β 17.1 g/day, 95% CI 10.6-23.6) and milk beverages (β 2.8 g/day, 95% CI 1.0-4.5) but not with intake of other dairy products. Other dietary intakes associated with rs4988235 included fruits (β -7.0 g/day, 95% CI -12.4 to -1.7 per additional LP allele), nonalcoholic beverages (β -18.0 g/day, 95% CI -34.4 to -1.6), and wine (β -4.8 g/day, 95% CI -9.1 to -0.6). In instrumental variable analysis, LP-associated milk intake was not associated with diabetes (hazard ratio 0.99per 15 g/day, 95% CI 0.93-1.05). CONCLUSIONS: rs4988235 was associated with milk intake but not with intake of other dairy products. This MR study does not suggest that milk intake is associated with diabetes, which is consistent with previous observational and genetic associations. LP may be associated with intake of other foods as well, but owing to the modest associations we consider it unlikely that this has caused the observed null result.</p

Estimated substitution of tea or coffee for sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with lower type 2 diabetes incidence in case-cohort analysis across 8 European countries in the epic-interact study.

INTRODUCTION: Beverage consumption is a modifiable risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D), but there is insufficient evidence to inform the suitability of substituting 1 type of beverage for another. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to estimate the risk of T2D when consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) was replaced with consumption of fruit juice, milk, coffee, or tea. METHODS: In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)-InterAct case-cohort study of 8 European countries (n = 27,662, with 12,333 cases of incident T2D, 1992-2007), beverage consumption was estimated at baseline by dietary questionnaires. Using Prentice-weighted Cox regression adjusting for other beverages and potential confounders, we estimated associations of substituting 1 type of beverage for another on incident T2D. RESULTS: Mean ± SD of estimated consumption of SSB was 55 ± 105 g/d. Means ± SDs for the other beverages were as follows: fruit juice, 59 ± 101 g/d; milk, 209 ± 203 g/d; coffee, 381 ± 372 g/d; and tea, 152 ± 282 g/d. Substituting coffee for SSBs by 250 g/d was associated with a 21% lower incidence of T2D (95% CI: 12%, 29%). The rate difference was -12.0 (95% CI: -20.0, -5.0) per 10,000 person-years among adults consuming SSBs ≥250 g/d (absolute rate = 48.3/10,000). Substituting tea for SSBs was estimated to lower T2D incidence by 22% (95% CI: 15%, 28%) or -11.0 (95% CI: -20.0, -2.6) per 10,000 person-years, whereas substituting fruit juice or milk was estimated not to alter T2D risk significantly. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate a potential benefit of substituting coffee or tea for SSBs for the primary prevention of T2D and may help formulate public health recommendations on beverage consumption in different populations

Estimated substitution of tea or coffee for sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with lower type 2 diabetes incidence in case–cohort analysis across 8 European countries in the EPIC-interact study

Introduction Beverage consumption is a modifiable risk factor for type 2 diabetes (T2D), but there is insufficient evidence to inform the suitability of substituting 1 type of beverage for another. Objective The aim of this study was to estimate the risk of T2D when consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) was replaced with consumption of fruit juice, milk, coffee, or tea. Methods In the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC)–InterAct case–cohort study of 8 European countries (n = 27,662, with 12,333 cases of incident T2D, 1992–2007), beverage consumption was estimated at baseline by dietary questionnaires. Using Prentice-weighted Cox regression adjusting for other beverages and potential confounders, we estimated associations of substituting 1 type of beverage for another on incident T2D. Results Mean ± SD of estimated consumption of SSB was 55 ± 105 g/d. Means ± SDs for the other beverages were as follows: fruit juice, 59 ± 101 g/d; milk, 209 ± 203 g/d; coffee, 381 ± 372 g/d; and tea, 152 ± 282 g/d. Substituting coffee for SSBs by 250 g/d was associated with a 21% lower incidence of T2D (95% CI: 12%, 29%). The rate difference was −12.0 (95% CI: −20.0, −5.0) per 10,000 person-years among adults consuming SSBs ≥250 g/d (absolute rate = 48.3/10,000). Substituting tea for SSBs was estimated to lower T2D incidence by 22% (95% CI: 15%, 28%) or −11.0 (95% CI: −20.0, −2.6) per 10,000 person-years, whereas substituting fruit juice or milk was estimated not to alter T2D risk significantly. Conclusions These findings indicate a potential benefit of substituting coffee or tea for SSBs for the primary prevention of T2D and may help formulate public health recommendations on beverage consumption in different populations.</p