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Our Review Summary
The study is a 20-year observational badysis of a very specific subgroup: Men from Eastern Finland, ages 42-60. The research question is: how do fermented dairy products (such as yogurt, kefir, sour milk, cottage cheese, and quark) compare with non-fermented milk (mostly milk) when it comes to the risk of heart attacks?
The authors of this study of men under the age of death who consumed more low-fat compared to men who consumed less of these products.
But we get no sense of just how much difference between the groups, the volumes of dairy products that we had consumed, and what limitations of the study might make the findings debatable. Further, the release engages in some cause and effect when describing fermented dairy products' potential affect on cardiovascular health but these types of claims can not be supported by an observational study.
Fortunately, the news release does not use unjustifiable language, and makes it clear that the mechanisms of action are not completely understood.
Why This Matters
There is an emerging badumption that fermented milk products might be "pro-biotic" and, therefore, "heart-friendly." But, at this time, that only purely speculative. There is currently no proof that any alleged pre-biotic or pro-biotic – or dairy product, for that matter – protects against heart disease.
Because CHD is a key cause of sickness and death, it is important to understand dietary patterns that might prevent or postpone the disease. Although this research is interesting, it is not conclusive because of issues discussed below.
Criteria
Does the news release adequately quantify the benefits of treatment / test / product / procedure?
Not Satisfactory
Main findings mentioned include:
- Men who ate more fermented dairy products had lower rates of CHD.
- Men who ate more Non-fermented dairy had a higher rates of CHD.
- However, consuming high-fat / fermented dairy products (ie cheese) was not badociated with CHD.
Readers are given no sense of how much the risk is increased or decreased in these groups.
The only data provided from the study is this:
The risk of CHD was 26% lower in those men who consumed the highest amount of low fat (<3.5%) fermented dairy (compared to the lowest consumption group).
It would be difficult for many readers to know how much less fat / fermented milk was consumed.
Some data contained in the study might have helped the numbers in context. According to the table in the published manuscript, there is a small reduction of 14 CHD events per 1,000 person years in the low intake group (of fermented dairy) to 10 CHD events per 1,000 person years in the high intake group (of fermented dairy) .
Does the news release seem to grasp the quality of the evidence?
Not Satisfactory
There are three major limitations of this study that are not mentioned.
This is a prospective cohort that is considered to be responsible for some of the changes observed.
Second, the use of a food questionnaire (even with some supervision by nutritionists) is not a complete reliable way to document milk intake; especially when trying to pinpoint amounts and subtypes of dairy.
Finally, the cohort studied (Eastern Finnish men, ages 42-60) is a very specific subgroup. This limits the generalizability of the results.
The news release addresses none of this. In the published manuscript the authors describe differences in smoking and other dietary patterns in the men who consumed more or less of the dairy types. These other differences could be accounted for by this study.
Does the news release establish the true novelty of the approach?
Satisfactory
The news release claims that the new research It states:
"Earlier studies have shown that they are more likely to have positive effects on blood lipid profiles and on the risk of heart disease than other dairy products."
And that
"The new study provides further evidence on the health benefits that fermented dairy products may have over non-fermented ones."
Links to the future studies would have been helpful. As yet, it is still speculative to claim that it is lowering the risk of CHD.
Total Score: 3 of 8 Satisfactory
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