Infant dietary intake of yogurt and cheese and gastroenteritis at 1 year of age: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study

BACKGROUND: The important role played by intestinal bacterial flora in human health has recently attracted public attention worldwide. Although yogurt is thought to help in preventing the onset of gastroenteritis, this property has rarely been examined in epidemiological studies. METHOD: This study analyzed data obtained by the Japan Environment and Children’s Study. From a dataset of 103,062 pregnancies, 82,485 were selected for this analysis. Dietary intake of fermented foods (yogurt and cheese) in 1-year-old infants was assessed with a food frequency questionnaire. Parent-reported physician-diagnosed gastroenteritis in early childhood was determined from a questionnaire conducted when the child was 1 year old. RESULT: The incidence of gastroenteritis was significantly lower in infants who consumed yogurt ≥ 7 and 3–6 times/week than in infants who consumed yogurt < 1 time/week in crude models (n = 82,485) and after adjustment for covariates (adjusted odds ratio [95% confidence interval], 0.78 [0.70–0.86] versus 0.82 [0.76–0.89], respectively; n = 65,051). Frequency of weekly cheese consumption was not associated with the incidence of gastroenteritis. CONCLUSION: Consumption of yogurt, but not cheese, at 1 year of age was associated with a reduced risk of gastroenteritis. Further studies of this association, including interventional studies, are warranted.