Dairy Consumption, Type 2 Diabetes, and Changes in Cardiometabolic Traits: A Prospective Cohort Study of Middle-Aged and Older Chinese in Beijing and Shanghai

OBJECTIVE To prospectively investigate associations of dairy consumption with risk of type 2 diabetes and changes of cardiometabolic traits. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS In 2005, 2,091 middle-aged and older Chinese men and women were recruited and followed for 6 years. Baseline dairy consumption was assessed by a 74-item food frequency questionnaire. Erythrocyte fatty acids were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with flame ion detector. Cardiometabolic traits were measured at both baseline and follow-up visits. RESULTS Only 1,202 (57.5%) participants reported any dairy consumption, with a median intake of 0.89 (interquartile range 0.19–1.03) serving/day. Compared with nonconsumers, the relative risks (RRs) of type 2 diabetes among those having 0.5–1 serving/day and >1 serving/day were 0.70 (95% CI 0.55–0.88) and 0.65 (0.49–0.85), respectively, after multivariate adjustment ( P trend P trend = 0.07). Total dairy consumption was associated with favorable changes in glucose, waist circumference, BMI, diastolic blood pressure (all P trend P trend = 0.05) after multivariate adjustment, including baseline values of dependent variables. Erythrocyte trans -18:1 isomers were significantly correlated with total dairy consumption ( r s = 0.37, P trend trans -18:1 isomers was 0.82 (0.65–1.04, P trend = 0.02), which was attenuated after adjustment for dairy consumption ( P trend = 0.15). CONCLUSIONS Dairy consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk of type 2 diabetes and favorable changes of cardiometabolic traits in Chinese.