Dairy Product Consumption and Changes in Cognitive Performance: Two-Year Analysis of the PREDIMED-Plus Cohort

Scope: Dairy consumption has been suggested to impact cognition; however, evidence is limited and inconsistent. This study aims to longitudinally assess the association between dairy consumption with cognitive changes in an older Spanish population at high cardiovascular disease risk. Methods and results: Four thousand six hundred sixty eight participants aged 55–75 years, completed a validated food frequency questionnaire at baseline and a neuropsychological battery of tests at baseline and 2-year follow-up. Multivariable linear regression models are used, scaled by 100 (i.e., the units of β correspond to 1 SD/100), to assess associations between baseline tertile daily consumption and 2-year changes in cognitive performance. Participants in the highest tertile of total milk and whole-fat milk consumption have a greater decline in global cognitive function (β: –4.71, 95% CI: –8.74 to –0.69, p-trend = 0.020 and β: –6.64, 95% CI: –10.81 to –2.47, p-trend = 0.002, respectively) compared to those in the lowest tertile. No associations are observed between low fat milk, yogurt, cheese or fermented dairy consumption, and changes in cognitive performance. Conclusion: Results suggest there are no clear prospective associations between consumption of most commonly consumed dairy products and cognition, although there may be an association with a greater rate of cognitive decline over a 2-year period in older adults at high cardiovascular disease risk for whole-fat milk.