High-Fat Dairy Linked to Lower Dementia Risk in Swedish Study

A recent study from Sweden suggests that high-fat dairy consumption may be associated with a lower risk of dementia. Conducted by researchers at Lund University, the study involved data from the Malmö Diet and Cancer cohort, which tracked 27,670 adults aged 45 to 73 over an average of 25 years.

The researchers collected comprehensive dietary information, including interviews and food diaries. Participants were categorized based on their intake of high-fat and low-fat dairy products. High-fat cheese was defined as containing more than 20% fat, while high-fat cream was classified as having more than 30% fat. The study followed participants from 1991 to 1996 and monitored their health outcomes until 2021.

Among the findings, individuals who consumed at least 20 grams of high-fat cream daily had a 16% lower risk of developing all-cause dementia compared to non-consumers. Moreover, those who ate a minimum of 50 grams of high-fat cheese per day exhibited a reduced risk of dementia and vascular dementia.

Emily Sonestedt, an associate professor of nutritional epidemiology at Lund University, remarked, “We were a bit surprised to see a lower dementia risk among people who ate more high-fat cheese.” The study also noted that most other dairy products, including low-fat cheese and milk, did not show a consistent association with dementia risk.

The study specifically looked at different types of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Results indicated that high butter intake correlated with a higher risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Interestingly, the protective effect of high-fat cheese was observed only in individuals without the APOE ε4 genetic variant, which is linked to an increased risk of Alzheimer’s.

Despite the intriguing results, experts caution against drawing definitive conclusions. The observational nature of the study means it cannot establish causation. Factors such as age, sex, education, lifestyle, and overall diet quality were adjusted for, but unmeasured variables may still influence the outcomes.

The study’s limitations include the fact that dietary data was collected only once, which may not accurately reflect long-term eating patterns. Additionally, the findings are based on a Swedish population that predominantly consumes hard, fermented cheeses, which may not be representative of diets in other countries.

As the research community continues to explore the relationship between diet and cognitive health, the study’s results were published in the journal Neurology, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The implications of these findings highlight the complexity of dietary influence on brain health and the need for further research to better understand these associations.