Association of milk and dairy product consumption with the incidence of cardio-cerebrovascular disease incidence in middle-aged and older Korean adults: a 16-year follow-up of the Korean Genome and Epidemiology Study

• Published in: Nutrition research and practice Vol. 17; no. 6; pp. 1225 - 1237
• Main Authors: Jeong, Yeseung, Lee, Kyung Won, Kim, Hyekyeong, Kim, Yuri
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) 한국영양학회 01.12.2023; The Korean Nutrition Society and the Korean Society of Community Nutrition
• Subjects: Original Research; 생활과학; cohort studies; cardiovascular diseases; cerebrovascular disorders; Milk
• ISSN: 1976-1457; 2005-6168
• DOI: 10.4162/nrp.2023.17.6.1225

Unhealthy dietary behaviors constitute one of risk the factors for chronic and cardiovascular diseases, which are prevalent in middle-aged and older populations. Milk and dairy products are high-quality foods and important sources of calcium. Calcium protects against osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. Therefore, this study investigated the association of milk and dairy product consumption with cardio-cerebrovascular disease incidence in middle-aged and older Korean adults. Data were derived from the Ansan-Anseong cohort study, and a total of 8,009 individuals aged 40-69 years were selected and followed up biennially. Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the association of milk and dairy product consumption with cardio-cerebrovascular disease incidence. During a mean follow-up period of 96.5 person-months, 552 new cases of cardio-cerebrovascular disease were documented. Milk consumers (< 1 serving/day) exhibited a 23% lower risk of cardio-cerebrovascular disease incidence than non-milk consumers (hazard ratio [HR], 0.77; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.61-0.97; for trend = 0.842). High yogurt consumption was associated with a 29% lower incidence risk (≥ 0.5 servings/day vs. none: HR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.53-0.96; for trend = 0.049), whereas high ice cream consumption was associated with a 70% higher risk of cardio-cerebrovascular disease incidence (≥ 0.5 servings/day vs. none: HR, 1.70; 95% CI, 1.01-2.88; for trend = 0.070). This study indicates that less than one serving of milk and high yogurt consumption are associated with a lower cardio-cerebrovascular disease risk in the middle-aged and older populations.