High-fat dairy ups risk of liver disease mortality, cancer
21 Jul 2025
Individuals who regularly consume high-fat dairy are at greater risk of death due to chronic liver diseases (CLD), reveals a recent study. However, low-fat dairy intake may lower such risk.
Overall, 485,931 participants (mean age 61.5 years, 59.8 percent male) from the NIH–American Association of Retired Persons Diet and Health Study were included in the analysis.
The authors obtained epidemiological data, including dietary factors, using a self-administered validated questionnaire. They also recorded portion size and frequency of dairy product intake among participants. Finally, associations were explored using Cox proportional hazard models.
A total of 993 deaths from CLD and 940 incident liver cancer cases were recorded over a median follow-up of 15.5 years.
CLD mortality showed a positive association with greater consumption of high-fat dairy (hazard ratio [HR], 1.51, 95 percent confidence interval [CI], 1.24–1.84; ptrend=0.009) and high-fat milk (HR, 2.03, 95 percent CI, 1.31–3.14; ptrend<0.001).
On the other hand, consumption of low-fat dairy (HR, 0.62, 95 percent CI, 0.46–0.84; ptrend=0.002), low-fat milk (HR, 0.54, 95 percent CI, 0.41–0.70; ptrend=0.028), and yogurt (HR, 0.60, 95 percent CI, 0.37–0.97; ptrend=0.057) correlated with a reduced risk of CLD mortality.
Additionally, total dairy intake (HR, 1.26, 95 percent CI, 0.99–1.59; ptrend=0.040) and high-fat dairy (HR, 1.35, 95 percent CI, 1.07–1.70; ptrend=0.14) marginally correlated with liver cancer risk, while milk consumption appeared to increase the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).
“The incidence and prevalence of CLD and liver cancer are increasing worldwide,” the authors noted.