The Effect of Dairy Products Subgroups Consumption on the Risk of Diabetes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Context: There is no global consensus on the issue that what dairy subgroups can affect diabetes; thus, this meta-analysis aims to shed light on this matter.
Evidence Acquisition: Main electronic databases such as Web of Science, Scopus, Science Direct, and PubMed, updated to March 2016, were investigated. All original articles from Prospective Cohort and Case-Cohort studies examining the relationship between dairy products subgroups consumption and the risk of diabetes were brought under consideration without any restrictions on age, gender, language, race, and publication year. To validate this study, the STROBE checklist was used. The indices of relative risk and rate ratio were reported using Random Effect Model.
Out of 1391 articles, 13 (covering 421,421 people) were introduced to the current meta-analysis. The findings showed that the consumption of yoghurt and cream has preventive effects on the risk of diabetes: Yogurt: relative risk = 0.74 (95% CI: 0.65, 0.84), rate ratio = 0.66 (95% CI: 0.63, 0.70); Cream: rate ratio = 0.86 (95% CI: 0.82, 0.91). Although the relative risk index showed that milk consumption diminishes the risk of diabetes by 11%, this relationship was not statistically significant: Milk: relative risk = 0.89 (95% CI: 0.82, 0.97), rate ratio = 1.07 (95% CI: 0.93, 1.24). This study also indicated that intake of low-fat milk, ice cream, and cheese has no impact on the incidence of diabetes: Cheese: relative risk = 0.92 (95% CI: 0.82, 1.04), rate ratio = 1.04 (95% CI: 0.93, 1.16); Low-fat milk: rate ratio = 0.93 (95% CI: 0.76, 1.14); Ice cream: rate ratio = 1.05 (95% CI: 0.93, 1.18).
Due to the scarcity of studies related to some dairy subgroups, it is not possible to make a final judgment about their effects on the risk of diabetes; therefore, more studies need to be conducted on this issue.