The association between dairy products and the risk of COVID-19

BACKGROUND: The fast spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic and its high mortality were quickly noticed by the health community. Dairy products have been recognized as part of a healthy diet that helps strengthen body immunity and prevent infections. The present study can provide a comprehensive picture of the associations between dairy products consumption and COVID-19 incidence. METHODS: This study was undertaken on 8801 adults participants of Yazd Health Study (YaHS) and Taghzieh Mardom-e-Yazd (TAMIZ) study aged 20 to 70 years. Data on dietary intakes were obtained using a validated food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to assess the association between dairy consumption and COVID-19. RESULT: Our finding indicated that moderate intake of total dairy (OR: 0.63, 95% CI 0.46–0.87, P-trend = 0.97) could reduce the odds of COVID-19 and higher intake of low-fat dairy products (OR: 0.51 CI: 0.37–0.69, p-trend < 0.001) and low-fat milk (OR: 0.47 CI: 0.35–0.64, p-trend < 0.001) had a protective effect on COVID-19 after adjusting for confounders. However, higher intake of high-fat-dairy-product (OR: 1.40 CI: 1.09–1.92, p-trend = 0.03), high-fat milk (OR: 1.54 CI: 1.20–1.97, p-trend < 0.001), total yogurt (OR: 1.40 CI: 1.04–1.89, p-trend = 0.01), cheese (OR: 1.80 CI: 1.27–2.56, p-trend = 0.001), and butter (OR: 1.80 CI: 1.04–3.11, p-trend = 0.02) were related to increase the odds of COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Moderate intake of total dairy could reduce odds of COVID-19 by 37% and, a higher intake of low-fat dairy products had a protective role on COVID-19. Although our study has promising results, stronger clinical studies are needed.