Association Between Dairy Intake and Executive Function in Chinese Children Aged 6-12 Years

Association between dairy intake and executive function remains controversial, especially among children, a population with fast-developing executive functions. This study aimed to explore this topic. Additionally, we further distinguished the role of dairy intake types (full- or low-fat milk or yogurt) in this relationship. This survey included 5,138 children aged 6-12 years. Dairy intakes were assessed by validated questionnaires. Executive function was measured by the behavior rating inventory of executive function (BRIEF; Parent Version), and lower T-scores of BRIEF indices indicated superior executive function performance. Results showed that children with higher dairy intake had statistically better performance in Shift (46.58 ± 7.48 vs. 45.85 ± 7.10), Initiate (48.02 ± 8.58 vs. 47.14 ± 8.33), and Working Memory (50.69 ± 8.82 vs. 49.89 ± 8.73). In the analysis of multivariate linear regression, we found that for every one unit increase in full-fat dairy intake, T-scores for Shift (β = -0.350 (95% confidence interval [CI]: (-0.660, -0.039) and Initiate (β = -0.486 (95% CI: (-0.845, -0.127) were decreased and for every one unit increase in low-fat dairy intake, T-score for Organizations of Materials (β = -0.940 (95% CI: (-1.690, -0.189) was decreased. After distinguishing dairy into milk and yogurt, we observed that only milk intake, not yogurt, was significantly associated with better executive function performance in Shift (β = -0.390 (95% CI (-0.745, -0.035) and Initiate (β = -0.509 (95% CI (-0.917, -0.101) after adjusting for potential confounding factors. This study shows that a higher intake of dairy, irrespective of fat content, is related to better executive function performance among children aged 6-12. In addition, a significantly positive relationship between dairy intake and executive function's indices of Shift and Initiate only was observed in milk, not in yogurt.