Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Meta-Analysis
. 2019 May 1;10(suppl_2):S190-S211.
doi: 10.1093/advances/nmy114.

Association Between Dairy Product Consumption and Colorectal Cancer Risk in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Epidemiologic Studies

Laura Barrubés  1   2 , Nancy Babio  1   2 , Nerea Becerra-Tomás  1   2 , Núria Rosique-Esteban  1   2 , Jordi Salas-Salvadó  1   2
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Association Between Dairy Product Consumption and Colorectal Cancer Risk in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Epidemiologic Studies

Laura Barrubés et al. Adv Nutr. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Dairy product consumption may decrease colorectal cancer (CRC) risk, but very few studies have evaluated the association between different types of dairy products and CRC location. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the associations between dairy product consumption and CRC incidence. Summary RRs and ORs with 95% CIs were estimated. A total of 15 cohort studies and 14 case-control studies comprising a total of >22,000 cases were included in the quantitative synthesis. The cohort studies showed a consistent significant decrease in CRC risk associated with higher consumption of total dairy products (RR: 0.80; 95% CI: 0.70, 0.91) and total milk (RR: 0.82; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.88) compared with the CRC risk associated with lower consumption. These studies also showed a significant protective association between low-fat milk consumption and CRC (RR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.66, 0.88), but only for colon cancer (RR: 0.73; 95% CI: 0.61, 0.87). Cheese consumption was inversely associated with the risk of CRC (RR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.76, 0.96) and proximal colon cancer (RR: 0.74; 95% CI: 0.60, 0.91). No significant associations with CRC were found for the consumption of low-fat dairy products, whole milk, fermented dairy products, or cultured milk. Most of these associations were not supported by the case-control studies. In conclusion, high consumption of total dairy products and total milk was associated with a lower risk of developing CRC at any anatomic location, including the proximal and distal colon and the rectum. Low-fat milk consumption was associated with a lower risk of CRC, but this association was restricted to colon cancer. Cheese consumption was associated with the prevention of CRC, specifically proximal colon cancer. Further studies on larger samples and with longer follow-up periods, along with appropriately designed and executed clinical trials, are warranted to determine whether dairy product consumption affects CRC development.

Keywords: adults; case-control studies; cheese; colorectal cancer; dairy; meta-analysis; milk; prospective studies; systematic review; yogurt.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Flow of information through the different phases of the identification and selection of relevant studies examining the associations between the consumption of dairy products and the risk of CRC in adults. Abbreviations: CI, confidence interval; CRC, colorectal cancer; FFQ, food frequency questionnaire; OR, odds ratio; RR, relative risk.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Summary estimates (RRs for cohort studies and ORs for case-control studies, with the corresponding 95% CIs; log scale) examining the associations between the consumption of dairy products and the risk of CRC. The meta-analysis included prospective cohort and case-control studies analyzing the consumption of total dairy products, high-fat dairy products, low-fat dairy products, total milk, whole milk, low-fat milk, fermented dairy products, total yogurt, cultured milk or cheese. Abbreviations: CI: confidence interval; CRC, colorectal cancer, OR: odds ratio; RR, relative risk.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Summary estimates (RRs for cohort studies and ORs for case-control studies, with the corresponding 95% CIs; log scale) examining the associations between the consumption of dairy products and the risk of colon cancer. The meta-analysis included prospective cohort and case-control studies analyzing the consumption of total dairy products, high-fat dairy products, low-fat dairy products, total milk, whole milk, low-fat milk, fermented dairy products, total yogurt, cultured milk or cheese. Abbreviations: CI: confidence interval, OR: odds ratio; RR, relative risk.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Summary estimates (RRs with 95% CIs; log scale) examining the associations between the consumption of dairy products and the risk of colon cancer by subsite (proximal or distal colon). The meta-analysis included prospective cohort studies analyzing the consumption of total dairy products, high-fat dairy products, low-fat dairy products, total milk, whole milk, low-fat milk, fermented dairy products, total yogurt, cultured milk or cheese. Abbreviations: CI: confidence interval, OR: odds ratio, RR, relative risk.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Summary estimates (RRs for cohort studies and ORs for case-control studies, with the corresponding 95% CIs; log scale) examining the associations between the consumption of dairy products and the risk of rectal cancer. The meta-analyses included prospective cohort and case-control studies analyzing the consumption of total dairy products, high-fat dairy products, low-fat dairy products, total milk, whole milk, low-fat milk, fermented dairy products, total yogurt, cultured milk, or cheese.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Fitzmaurice C, Akinyemiju TF, Al Lami FH, Alam T, Alizadeh-Navaei R, Allen C, Alsharif U, Alvis-Guzman N, Amini E, Anderson BO et al.. Global, regional, and national cancer incidence, mortality, years of life lost, years lived with disability, and disability-adjusted life-years for 29 cancer groups, 1990 to 2016. JAMA Oncol. 2018;4(11):1553–68. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arnold M, Sierra MS, Laversanne M, Soerjomataram I, Jemal A, Bray F. Global patterns and trends in colorectal cancer incidence and mortality. Gut. 2017;66:683–91. - PubMed
    1. World Cancer Research Fund/American Institute for Cancer Research. Diet, nutrition, physical activity and cancer: a global perspective. Continuous Update Project Expert Report. 2018.
    1. Schwingshackl L, Hoffmann G. Adherence to Mediterranean diet and risk of cancer: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. Cancer Med. 2015;4:1933–47. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Feng Y-L, Shu L, Zheng P-F, Zhang X-Y, Si C-J, Yu X-L, Gao W, Zhang L. Dietary patterns and colorectal cancer risk. Eur J Cancer Prev. 2017;26:201–11. - PubMed

Publication types