The Study
Association of dairy intake with cardiovascular disease and mortality in 21 countries from five continents (PURE): a prospective cohort study.
This study watched a lot of people over many years and noticed that those who ate more dairy tended to get sick less often. But it didn't make people change what they ate—it just watched what they already did—so we can't say dairy definitely caused the better health.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
Scientists tracked what people ate and how healthy they were for over 9 years in 21 countries.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 552 / 100
Quality score
Groups of people are followed over time to see who develops an outcome. Strong for identifying risk factors and associations, but cannot prove causation as firmly as RCTs.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Yes — eating dairy like milk and yogurt daily may help people live longer and avoid strokes, even in poorer countries.
- 2People who ate more than 2 servings of dairy a day had 16% fewer heart problems and 17% lower chance of dying early.
- 3Milk and yogurt helped, but cheese and butter didn't show clear benefits.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Lancet
Year
2018
Authors
M. Dehghan, A. Mente, S. Rangarajan, P. Sheridan, V. Mohan, R. Iqbal, Rajeev Gupta, S. Lear, E. Wentzel-Viljoen, Á. Avezum, P. López-Jaramillo, P. Mony, R. Varma, Rajesh Kumar, J. Chifamba, K. Alhabib, N. Mohammadifard, A. Oguz, F. Lanas, D. Różańska, K. Bostrom, K. Yusoff, Lungiswa P Tsolkile, A. Dans, A. Yusufali, A. Orlandini, P. Poirier, R. Khatib, B. Hu, Li Wei, Lu Yin, Ai Deeraili, K. Yeates, R. Yusuf, Noorhassim Ismail, D. Mozaffarian, K. Teo, Sonia S Anand, S. Yusuf
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Claims (7)
People who eat cheese have the same or lower risk of dying from any cause compared to those who eat less cheese.
People who eat cheese have lower rates of death from heart disease compared to those who do not.
People who consume more dairy have a 34% lower risk of stroke compared to those who consume less, but their risk of heart attack is not significantly different.
Adults aged 35 to 70 who consume more than two servings of dairy per day have a 16% lower rate of major cardiovascular events and a 17% lower rate of death from any cause compared to those who consume less dairy, based on data from 21 countries.
People in low- and middle-income countries who consume dairy have lower rates of death from heart disease and from all causes combined.
People who ate small amounts of butter had no higher rate of heart disease or death compared to others, and eating moderate amounts of butter does not raise the risk of heart disease.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.