The relationship between dairy products intake and breast cancer incidence: a meta-analysis of observational studies

BACKGROUND: The effect of dairy products intake on breast cancer (BC) is highly controversial. This study aims to investigate the relationship between dairy intake and BC incidence. METHODS: A search was carried out in PubMed, EBSCO, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library databases before January 2021. The primary objective was the risk of BC and intake of dairy products were exposure variables. RESULTS: The meta-analysis comprised 36 articles with 1,019,232 participants. Total dairy products have a protective effect on female population (hazard ratio (HR) =0.95, 95% confidence interval (CI) =0.91–0.99, p = 0.019), especially for estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) (HR = 0.79, p = 0.002) and progesterone receptor-positive (PR+) BC (HR = 0.75, p = 0.027). For ER+/PR+ BC, there is a trend of protection, but it has not reached statistical significance (HR = 0.92, p = 0.075). Fermented dairy products can reduce BC risk in postmenopausal population (HR = 0.96, 95%CI = 0.93–0.99, p = 0.021), but have no protective effect on premenopausal population (HR = 0.98, 95%CI = 0.94–1.03, p = 0.52). Non-fermented dairy products have no significant effect on BC occurrence (p > 0.05). High-fat dairy products are harmful to women, without statistical difference (HR = 1.06, 95%CI = 1.00–1.13, p = 0.066). On the contrary, low-fat dairy products can protect the premenopausal population (HR = 0.94, 95%CI = 0.89–1.00, p = 0.048). CONCLUSION: The intake of dairy products can overall reduce BC risk in the female population, but different dairy products have varying effects on different BC subtypes and menopausal status. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12885-021-08854-w.