A recent Swedish study involving over 27,000 adults suggests that high-fat dairy consumption may be linked to a lower risk of developing dementia.
A large-scale study conducted in Sweden has revealed that certain high-fat dairy products may be associated with a reduced risk of dementia. Researchers analyzed data from the Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort, which included 27,670 adults aged 45 to 73 in Malmö, Sweden. The study involved detailed interviews, food diaries, and questionnaires to assess daily dairy consumption, categorizing the products into high-fat and low-fat types. High-fat cheese was defined as containing more than 20% fat, while high-fat cream was classified as having more than 30% fat.
Participants were enrolled in the study between 1991 and 1996 and were followed for an average of 25 years. The primary outcome measured was all-cause dementia, with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and vascular dementia (VaD) analyzed separately. Over the follow-up period, 3,208 individuals developed dementia. Notably, those who consumed high-fat cheese exhibited a significantly lower likelihood of developing dementia.
“We were a bit surprised to see a lower dementia risk among people who ate more high-fat cheese,” said Emily Sonestedt, an associate professor of nutritional epidemiology at Lund University in Sweden. However, she noted that the link with vascular dementia was not entirely unexpected. “Many dementia cases involve damage to small blood vessels in the brain. Our previous work, along with several international studies, including those from the U.S., have shown neutral or slightly protective associations between cheese and cardiovascular disease.”
The study accounted for various factors, including age, sex, education, smoking habits, physical activity, alcohol consumption, body mass index, hypertension, overall diet quality, and other dairy products. Findings indicated that individuals consuming at least 50 grams of high-fat cheese per day had a lower risk of all-cause dementia compared to those consuming less than 15 grams. Additionally, high-fat cream consumption of at least 20 grams per day was associated with a 16% lower risk of all-cause dementia compared to non-consumers.
Other dairy products did not demonstrate clear associations with overall dementia risk. Low-fat cheese, low-fat cream, milk, fermented milk, and butter generally showed no significant links to all-cause dementia. However, high butter intake (at least 40 grams a day) was associated with an increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Interestingly, the study found that high-fat cheese was linked to a lower risk of Alzheimer’s only among individuals who did not carry the APOE ε4 risk variant, a genetic marker associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
It is important to note that this was an observational study, meaning it cannot definitively establish cause and effect. Unmeasured factors may still influence the results. Sonestedt cautioned that the study’s findings may not be directly applicable to populations with different dietary habits, as it was conducted in Sweden, where hard, fermented cheeses are predominantly consumed. Additionally, dietary intake was assessed only once, which may not accurately reflect changes over time, and cream consumption was measured with less precision than cheese.
“Although we adjusted for many lifestyle and health factors, it is still difficult to say that the cheese itself is protective,” the researchers noted. “It is more likely part of a broader eating pattern and lifestyle that may support long-term brain health.”
Furthermore, dementia diagnoses made after 2014 were not validated in detail, and baseline cognitive status was not available. Some cases of dementia may have been overlooked, and the results are specific to a Swedish population, which may limit their generalizability.
The findings of this study were published in the journal Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, highlighting the potential implications of dairy consumption on brain health.