Dairy Consumption and the Incidence of Hyperglycemia and the Metabolic Syndrome Results from a French prospective study, Data from the Epidemiological Study on the Insulin Resistance Syndrome (DESIR)

OBJECTIVE In the French Data from the Epidemiological Study on the Insulin Resistance Syndrome (DESIR) cohort, cross-sectional analyses have shown that a higher consumption of dairy products and calcium are associated with a lower prevalence of the metabolic syndrome (MetS). We assess the influence of dairy products on 9-year incident MetS and on impaired fasting glycemia and/or type 2 diabetes (IFG/T2D). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Men and women who completed a food frequency questionnaire at baseline and after 3 years were studied ( n = 3,435). Logistic regression models were used to study associations between the average year 0 and year 3 consumption of milk and dairy products, cheese, dietary calcium density, and incident MetS and IFG/T2D after adjusting for 1 ) sex, age, alcohol, smoking, physical activity, fat intake and 2 ) additionally for BMI. Associations between dairy products and continuous variables were studied by repeated-measures ANCOVA, using the same covariates. RESULTS Dairy products other than cheese, and dietary calcium density, were inversely associated with incident MetS and IFG/T2D; cheese was negatively associated with incident MetS. All three parameters were associated with lower diastolic blood pressure, and with a lower BMI gain. Higher cheese intake and calcium density were associated with a lower increase in waist circumference and lower triglyceride levels. Calcium density was also associated with a lower systolic blood pressure and a lower 9-year increase in plasma triglyceride levels. CONCLUSIONS A higher consumption of dairy products and calcium was associated with a lower 9-year incidence of MetS and IFG/T2D in a large cohort drawn from the general population.