Dairy product consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes in an elderly Spanish Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk

The possible effects of dairy consumption on diabetes prevention remain controversial. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the dairy consumption and type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk in an elderly Mediterranean population at high cardiovascular risk.

We prospectively followed 3,454 non-diabetic individuals from the PREDIMED study. Dairy consumption was assessed at baseline and yearly using food frequency questionnaires and categorized into total, low-fat, whole-fat, and subgroups: milk, yogurt, cheeses, fermented dairy, concentrated full fat, and processed dairy. Hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using Cox proportional hazards regression models.

During a median follow-up of 4.1 years, we documented 270 incident T2D cases. After multivariate adjustment, total dairy product consumption was inversely associated with T2D risk [0.68 (95 % CI 0.47–0.98); P-trend = .040]. This association appeared to be mainly attributed to low-fat dairy; the multivariate HRs (95 % CIs) comparing the highest versus the lowest tertile consumption were 0.65 (0.45–0.94) for low-fat dairy products and 0.67 (0.46–0.95) for low-fat milk (both P-trend <.05). Total yogurt consumption was associated with a lower T2D risk [HR 0.60 (0.42–0.86); P-trend = .002]. An increased consumption of total low-fat dairy and total yogurt during the follow-up was inversely associated with T2D; HRs were 0.50 (0.29–0.85), 0.44 (0.26–0.75), and 0.55 (0.33–0.93), respectively. Substituting one serving/day of a combination of biscuits and chocolate and whole grain biscuits and homemade pastries for one serving/day of yogurt was associated with a 40 and 45 % lower risk of T2D, respectively. No significant associations were found for the other dairy subgroups (cheese, concentrated full fat, and processed dairy products).

A healthy dietary pattern incorporating a high consumption of dairy products and particularly yogurt may be protective against T2D in older adults at high cardiovascular risk.