The Study
Dairy consumption and patterns of mortality of Australian adults
This study watched a group of Australians for 16 years and noticed that people who ate more full-fat dairy sometimes lived longer without heart disease. But it didn’t make them eat more dairy — it just watched what they already did. So we can’t say dairy caused the longer life — maybe those people also exercised more or ate healthier overall.
Analysis score
Maximum 72 for a cohort study.
Where the score came from
Scientists tracked what Australians ate for years and saw who got sick or died.
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.
- 1This is a big drop in risk, but it doesn't prove dairy caused it — maybe these people had other healthy habits.
- 2People who ate the most full-fat dairy (about 339 grams a day) were 69% less likely to die from heart disease than those who ate the least.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition
Year
2010
Authors
M. Bonthuis, M. Hughes, T. Ibiebele, A. Green, J. C. van der Pols
Related Content
Claims (4)
People who eat cheese have lower rates of death from heart disease compared to those who do not.
People who eat cheese do not have lower rates of death from cancer compared to those who eat less cheese.
Australian adults aged 25–78 who consumed about 339 grams of full-fat dairy per day had a 69% lower rate of death from cardiovascular disease over 14.4 years compared to those who consumed less, after accounting for calcium intake and other factors.
In Australian adults followed for 14.4 years, consuming dairy products such as milk, yogurt, cheese, and low-fat dairy was not consistently linked to higher or lower rates of death from heart disease, cancer, or any other cause.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.