The Study
Association between dairy intake and all-cause and cause-specific mortality: a pooled analysis of 0.4 million Japanese adults from 10 population-based cohort studies.
This study looked at lots of people in Japan and found that those who drank more milk tended to live longer, but it didn’t make them drink milk—it just watched what they already did. So we can’t say milk made them live longer, just that the two things happened together.
Analysis score
Maximum 85 for a systematic review with meta-analysis.
Where the score came from
Scientists looked at data from 400,000 Japanese adults to see if eating dairy like milk, yogurt, or cheese affects how long people live.
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
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of cohort studies. They sit above a single cohort study but below a single randomized trial, because the underlying evidence is still observational.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1The reduction in risk is small but consistent across many people over many years — it suggests daily milk might help slightly lower the chance of dying, especially from stroke.
- 2People who drank milk almost every day were 6% less likely to die from any cause, and 19% less likely to die from stroke (brain-related death) compared to those who drank milk less than once a week.
- 3Eating yogurt or cheese didn’t seem to make a difference.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
International journal of epidemiology
Year
2025
Authors
Yukai Lu, Y. Sugawara, Atsushi Hozawa, M. Iwasaki, N. Sawada, Rieko Kanehara, I. Oze, Hidemi Ito, Naoko Miyagawa, Yuriko N. Koyanagi, K. Wada, C. Nagata, Sanyu Ge, T. Kitamura, Takashi Kimura, Akiko Tamakoshi, M. Utada, K. Matsuo, Yingsong Lin, S. Abe, M. Inoue
Related Content
Claims (6)
People who eat about 30 grams of cheese every day have a lower risk of dying from any cause compared to those who do not.
Japanese women who drink milk every day have a 10% lower rate of death from stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases than those who drink milk less than once a week.
Eating yogurt and cheese does not change the risk of dying from any cause in Japanese men and women.
Japanese adults aged 35 and older who drink milk every day have a 6% lower risk of dying from any cause compared to those who drink milk less than once a week.
Japanese men who drink milk every day have an 11% lower rate of death from stroke and other cerebrovascular diseases than those who drink milk less than once a week.
People in Japan who consume moderate amounts of dairy products have a lower rate of death from any cause compared to those who consume less, but increasing dairy intake beyond this level does not further reduce risk.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.