Is dairy product consumption associated with the incidence of CHD?

Studies examining the association of dairy consumption with incident CHD have yielded inconsistent results. The current prospective study examined the association between dairy consumption and CHD in a population-based sample of older community-dwelling adults.

Baseline CHD risk factors were assessed and an FFQ was self-administered. Participants were followed for morbidity and mortality with periodic clinic visits and annual mailed questionnaires for an average of 16?2 years, with a 96% follow-up rate for fatal and non-fatal CHD.

Community.

Participants were 751 men and 1008 women aged 50–93 years who attended a clinic visit in 1984–1987.

At baseline the mean age was 70.6 (SD 9.8) years for men and 70.1 (SD 9.3) years for women. Participants who developed CHD during follow-up were significantly older (P < 0.001), had higher BMI (P = 0.035) and higher total cholesterol (P = 0.050), and were more likely to be male (P < 0.001), diabetic (P = 0.011) and hypertensive (P < 0.001), than those who did not develop CHD. Multivariate regression analyses adjusting for age, BMI, diabetes, hypertension, LDL-cholesterol and oestrogen use (in women) indicated that women who consumed low-fat cheese ‘sometimes/often’ and women who consumed non-fat milk ‘sometimes/often’ had an increased risk of incident CHD (hazard ratio 52.32; 95% CI 1.57, 3.41) and CHD (hazard ratio 51.48; 95% CI 1.02, 2.16) compared with women who ‘never/rarely’ ate these dairy products.

Woman with higher intake of low-fat cheese and non-fat milk seem to have a higher risk of incident CHD. This needs further investigation considering recent evidence of cardiovascular benefits from certain dairy fat.