Consumption of dairy products and CVD risk: results from the French prospective cohort NutriNet-Santé

Abstract

In France, dairy products contribute to dietary saturated fat intake, of which reduced consumption is often recommended for cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention. Epidemiological evidence on the association between dairy consumption and CVD risk remains unclear, suggesting either null or inverse associations. This study aimed to investigate the associations between dairy consumption (overall and specific foods) and CVD risk in a large cohort of French adults. This prospective analysis included participants aged ≥ 18 years from the NutriNet-Santé cohort (2009–2019). Daily dietary intakes were collected using 24h-dietary records. Total dairy, milk, cheese, yogurts, fermented and reduced-fat dairy intakes were investigated. CVD cases (n=1,952) included cerebrovascular (n=878 cases) and coronary heart diseases (CHD, n=1,219 cases). Multivariable Cox models were performed to investigate associations. This analysis included n=104,805 French adults (mean age at baseline 42.8 years (SD 14.6)), mean follow-up 5.5 years (SD 3.0, i.e. 579,155 persons years). There were no significant associations between dairy intakes and total CVD or CHD risks. However, the consumption of at least 160 g/d of fermented dairy (e.g. cheese and yogurts) was associated with a reduced risk of cerebrovascular diseases compared to intakes below 57 g/d (HR=0.81 [0.66-0.98], p-trend=0.01). Despite being a major dietary source of saturated fats, dairy consumption was not associated with CVD or CHD risks in this study. However, fermented dairy was associated with a lower cerebrovascular disease risk. Robust randomized controlled trials are needed to further assess the impact of consuming different dairy foods on CVD risk and potential underlying mechanisms.

Can individual fatty acids be used as functional biomarkers of dairy fat consumption in relation to cardiometabolic health? A narrative review

“…It may also be difficult to disentangle the potential physiological roles of FA from those of the rest of the dairy food matrix, which is highly variable among dairy food groups such as cheese and butter (97,98) . In addition, it has been proposed that fermented dairy foods such as yogurts may help prevent obesity via beneficial effects on the gut microbiota, the intestinal barrier function and the hormonal regulation of appetite (99) and may be associated with lower risks of cerebrovascular diseases (100) .…”

The Relationship Between Major Food Sources of Fructose and Cardiovascular Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Dose-Response Meta-Analysis of Prospective Studies

“…We reviewed the full text of the remaining reports, leading to the exclusion of another 177. In the end, we included 64 publications [ [37] , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] , [45] , [46] , [47] , [48] , [49] , [50] , [51] , [52] , [53] , [54] , [55] , [56] , [57] , [58] , [59] , [60] , [61] , [62] , [63] , [64] , [65] , [66] , [67] , [68] , [69] , [70] , [71] , [72] , [73] , [74] , [75] , [76] , [77] , [78] , [79] , [80] , [81] , [82] , [83] , [84] , [85] , [86] , [87] , [88] , [89] , [90] , [91] , [92] , [93] , [94] , [95] , [96] , [97] , [98] , [99] , [100] ] that prospectively analyzed 45 unique cohorts. There were 19 publications [ ...…”

“…Most studies assessed dietary intake using food frequency questionnaires. The remaining studies used a modified diet history method in the case of the Swedish Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort [ 43 , 46 , 87 , 89 ], dietary history interview in the case of the Finnish Mobile Clinic Health Examination Survey [ 61 ], 3-day weighted dietary records in the case of the NIPPON DATA80 study [ 85 ], 24-hour dietary records in the case of the NutriNet-Santé study [ 93 ], or a dietary questionnaire combined with a 7-day record in the case of the United Kingdom and Malmö cohorts [ 53 , 77 ].…”

Dioxins and furans in cow milk and dairy products: A review of the scientific literature

“…With respect to cardiovascular diseases, since milk and milk products can be a source of saturated fatty acids, their regular consumption could be linked to increased risks of these diseases. However, it has been shown that the consumption of dairy products with a low-fat content does not mean additional risks of cardiovascular diseases (Drouin-Chartier et al 2016;Fontecha et al 2019;Sellem et al 2022).…”