Shanjie Wang1, Yige Liu1, Hengxuan Cai1, Yi Li2, Xiaoyuan Zhang1, Jinxin Liu1, Rong Sun1, Shaohong Fang3, Bo Yu4. 1. Department of Cardiology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China; The Key Laboratory of Myocardial Ischemia, Chinese Ministry of Education, Harbin, China. 2. Department of Statistics, School of Statistics and Mathematics, Nanjing Audit University, Nanjing, China. 3. Department of Cardiology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China; The Key Laboratory of Myocardial Ischemia, Chinese Ministry of Education, Harbin, China. Electronic address: fangshaohong7802@163.com. 4. Department of Cardiology, Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, China; The Key Laboratory of Myocardial Ischemia, Chinese Ministry of Education, Harbin, China. Electronic address: dryu_hmu@163.com.
Abstract
BACKGROUND&AIMS: It is controversial to preferentially choose low-fat milk or full-fat items. This study aimed to investigate the association of total and cause-specific mortality with 2 g/100 g or ≤ 1 g/100 g low-fat milk consumption compared with whole milk in general population. METHODS: Overall, 29,283 adults aged ≥20 years from US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2014 were recruited with a median follow-up of 8.3 years. The types of milk consumption at baseline (e.g., whole-fat, 2 g/100 g low-fat, and ≤1 g/100 g low-fat) were reported during in-house interviews. Hazard ratios for the associations between milk types and mortality were assessed with the weighted Cox proportional regression. RESULTS: During 241,572 person-years of follow-up, 4170 deaths occurred including 730 heart disease-related deaths and 846 cancer deaths. Consumption of milk contained lower fat exhibited an inverse association with total and cardiovascular mortality after multivariable adjustment. Compared with participants consuming whole-fat milk, those consuming 2 g/100 g or ≤1 g/100 g low-fat milk had a 14%-22% decrease in total mortality (p trend ≤0.001). Individuals consuming 2 g/100 g and ≤1 g/100 g low-fat milk had hazard ratios (95%CI) of 0.73 (0.55-0.97) and 0.67 (0.49-0.91) for heart-related mortality (p trend = 0.009). No significant difference was noted between whole-fat and lower-fat milk for mortality due to cancer, Alzheimer's disease, or diabetes mellitus. A similar trend was noted in the stratification and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION: Compared with whole milk, low-fat or skim milk intake was associated with reduced total and heart-related mortality. Low-fat milk may be more conducive than whole milk for promoting cardiovascular health in general adults.
BACKGROUND&AIMS: It is controversial to preferentially choose low-fat milk or full-fat items. This study aimed to investigate the association of total and cause-specific mortality with 2 g/100 g or ≤ 1 g/100 g low-fat milk consumption compared with whole milk in general population. METHODS: Overall, 29,283 adults aged ≥20 years from US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1999-2014 were recruited with a median follow-up of 8.3 years. The types of milk consumption at baseline (e.g., whole-fat, 2 g/100 g low-fat, and ≤1 g/100 g low-fat) were reported during in-house interviews. Hazard ratios for the associations between milk types and mortality were assessed with the weighted Cox proportional regression. RESULTS: During 241,572 person-years of follow-up, 4170 deaths occurred including 730 heart disease-related deaths and 846 cancer deaths. Consumption of milk contained lower fat exhibited an inverse association with total and cardiovascular mortality after multivariable adjustment. Compared with participants consuming whole-fat milk, those consuming 2 g/100 g or ≤1 g/100 g low-fat milk had a 14%-22% decrease in total mortality (p trend ≤0.001). Individuals consuming 2 g/100 g and ≤1 g/100 g low-fat milk had hazard ratios (95%CI) of 0.73 (0.55-0.97) and 0.67 (0.49-0.91) for heart-related mortality (p trend = 0.009). No significant difference was noted between whole-fat and lower-fat milk for mortality due to cancer, Alzheimer's disease, or diabetes mellitus. A similar trend was noted in the stratification and sensitivity analyses. CONCLUSION: Compared with whole milk, low-fat or skim milk intake was associated with reduced total and heart-related mortality. Low-fat milk may be more conducive than whole milk for promoting cardiovascular health in general adults.