Association between dairy intake and fracture in an Australian-based cohort of women: a prospective study

OBJECTIVE: Given the inconsistent evidence on dairy consumption and risk of fracture, we assessed the association between milk/total dairy consumption and major osteoporotic fracture (MOF) in women from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study (GOS). METHODS: Women aged ≥50 years (n=833) were followed from baseline (1993–1997) to date of first fracture, death or 31 December 2017, whichever occurred first. Dairy consumption was assessed by self-report at baseline and the follow-up phases. MOFs (hip, forearm, clinical spine and proximal humerus) were confirmed radiologically. Multivariable-adjusted Cox proportional hazard models were used to determine associations between milk/total dairy (milk, cheese, yoghurt, ice cream) consumption and MOFs. Cross-sectional associations between milk/total dairy consumption and serum high-sensitivity C reactive protein (hsCRP), C-terminal telopeptide (CTx) and procollagen type 1 N-terminal propeptide (P1NP) at baseline were investigated using multivariable linear regression. RESULTS: During follow-up (11 507 person-years), 206 women had an MOF. Consuming >500 mL/d of milk was not significantly associated with increased HR for MOF. Non-milk (1.56; 95% CI 0.99 to 2.46) drinkers and consumption of ≥800 g/d total dairy (1.70; 95% CI 0.99 to 2.93) had marginally higher HR for MOF compared with consuming <250 mL/d of milk and 200–399 g/d of total dairy, respectively. Milk consumption was inversely associated with serum hsCRP and CTx, but total dairy consumption was not associated with these serum markers. CONCLUSION: Higher milk consumption did not increase the risk for MOF in older women. However, a trend for increased MOF was detected in zero milk and higher total dairy consuming women.