Dairy may promote carotid wall thickening, but yogurt confers protection

Total dairy consumption appears to contribute to increased carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), whereas yogurt intake is protective against the risk of subclinical atherosclerosis, a study has found.

The study used data from the Mexican Teachers’ Cohort (MTC) study and included 1,759 women who were free of cardiovascular disease (CVD) or cancer. These women completed a validated food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess dairy consumption.

Total dairy intake was categorized according to the following mutually exclusive groups: high-fat, low-fat, yogurt, and dairy with added sugars. IMT and atherosclerotic plaque were measured using B-mode ultrasonography. Subclinical atherosclerosis was defined as an IMT ≥0.8 mm and/or the presence of plaque.

The mean age of the cohort was 45.4 years, and the median total dairy consumption was 11.0 servings/week.

In multivariable linear regression and logistic regression models, women in the highest vs lowest category of total dairy consumption showed a significantly increased IMT (2.6 percent, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 0.6–4.3; p_trend<0.01).

Meanwhile, those who were in the highest vs lowest quintile of yogurt intake had lower odds of subclinical atherosclerosis (odds ratio, 0.65, 95 percent CI, 0.47–0.91; p_trend=0.01). The analyses were controlled for lifestyle, clinical, and dietary factors.

Low-fat dairy intake showed no link to IMT, whereas dairy with added sugars were directly associated with subclinical atherosclerosis.