Milk Intake at Midlife and Cognitive Decline over 20 Years. The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study.
Background: Faster rates of cognitive decline are likely to result in earlier onset of cognitive impairment and dementia. d-galactose, a derivative of lactose, is used in animal studies to induce neurodegeneration. Milk is the primary source of lactose in the human diet, and its effects on cognitive decline have not been fully evaluated. Objective: Assess the association of milk intake with change in cognitive function over 20 years. Methods: A total of 13,751 participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) cohort completed a food frequency questionnaire and three neurocognitive evaluations from 1990 through 2013. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were used to determine lactase persistence (LCT-13910 C/T for Whites and LCT-14010 G/C for Blacks). Mixed-effects models were used to study the association of milk intake with cognitive change. Multiple imputations by chained equations were used to account for attrition. Results: Milk intake greater than 1 glass/day was associated with greater decline in the global z-score over a 20-year period. The difference in decline was 0.10 (95% CI: 0.16, 0.03) z-scores, or an additional 10% decline, relative to the group reporting "almost never" consuming milk. Conclusions: Replication of these results is warranted in diverse populations with greater milk intake and higher variability of lactase persistence genotype.
['Petruski-Ivleva|Natalia|N|', 'Kucharska-Newton|Anna|A|', 'Palta|Priya|P|', 'Couper|David|D|0000-0002-4313-9235', 'Meyer|Katie|K|', 'Graff|Misa|M|', 'Haring|Bernhard|B|', 'Sharrett|Richey|R|', 'Heiss|Gerardo|G|']
D001741:African Americans D000818:Animals D050197:Atherosclerosis D003072:Cognition Disorders D015331:Cohort Studies D003611:Dairy Products D003704:Dementia D004032:Diet D005260:Female D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic D005838:Genotype D006801:Humans D043322:Lactase D008297:Male D008875:Middle Aged D008892:Milk D014481:United States D044465:Whites
cognitive decline dementia lactose lactase persistence aging oxidative stress