Consumption of Cow's Milk in Early Childhood and Fracture Risk: A Prospective Cohort Study

Cow's milk is consumed by most North American children, yet the relationships between the volume and fat content of cow's milk consumed and childhood fracture risk are unclear. Our primary objectives in this study were to evaluate whether the volume or fat content of cow's milk consumed at 1-3 years of age was associated with the risk of fracture between 3 and 10 years of age. This was a prospective cohort study of 2,466 children enrolled in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, between 2008 and 2016. The primary exposure was volume of cow's milk consumed between the ages of 1 and 3 years, and the secondary exposure was average percentage of milk fat consumed by each child during the same period. The primary outcome was a parental report of child fracture at ages 3-10 years. In the primary and secondary adjusted analyses, no association between milk volume and fracture risk (adjusted relative risk = 1.04, 95% confidence interval: 0.87, 1.26) or between milk-fat content and fracture risk (adjusted relative risk = 1.05, 95% confidence interval: 0.84, 1.31) was observed. In this study, we did not identify a protective association of early childhood cow's milk volume or fat consumption with fracture risk in later childhood. Future prospective research is needed to understand whether cow's milk is beneficial for fracture prevention through the life course.