The association between breast cancer and consumption of dairy products: a systematic review
Arafat HM, Omar J, Shafii N, Naser IA, Al Laham NA, Muhamad R, Al-Astani TAD, Shaqaliah AJ, Shamallakh OM, Shamallakh KM, Abusalah MAH · Annals of Medicine · 2023 April 20
DOI 10.1080/07853890.2023.2198256
Objective
To investigate the link between dairy food consumption and the development of breast cancer.
Conclusions
Dairy consumption was found to be inversely associated with the risk of developing breast cancer.
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Insights
Consuming dairy products might reduce the risk of developing breast cancer.
The researchers conducted a systematic literature review where they scrutinized various databases for studies published in English up to January 2022. They began with 82 articles, but only 18 met their pre-set inclusion criteria. The studies varied in type - nine were prospective, seven were retrospective, and two were cross-sectional.
The results indicated an inverse relationship between dairy consumption and the risk of developing breast cancer. However, the effect of different types of dairy products and the exact dose-response relationships on breast cancer risk remains unclear. Nevertheless, this review provides a foundation for considering dairy products in preventive strategies to reduce breast cancer occurrence.
