Frequent milk consumption reduces OA progression in women

Frequent milk consumption may be associated with reduced osteoarthritis progression in women, according to results of this study.

“Currently, the risk factors for OA progression have been inconclusive. There are scarce data on the possible role of dietary factors,” Bing Lu, MD, Dr.PH, of the division of rheumatology, immunology and allergy at Brigham & Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, told Orthopedics Today. “Milk is an excellent source of vitamins and minerals, dairy calcium and protein. It has long been recognized for its important role in bone health. We therefore hypothesized that milk consumption may prevent OA progression.”

Researchers followed 2,148 participants in the Osteoarthritis Initiative with radiographic knee OA and having dietary data at baseline for 12 months, 24 months, 36 months and 48 months, assessing milk consumption with a Block Brief Food Frequency Questionnaire completed at baseline. Researchers used quantitative joint space width (JSW) between the medial femur and tibia of the knee based on plain radiographs to evaluate progression of OA. Independent association between milk intake and the decrease in JSW over time were tested by the multivariate linear models for repeated measures, while adjusting for baseline disease severity, body mass index, dietary factors and other potential confounders.

Study results showed high milk drinkers were more likely to be non-Hispanic white and non-smokers, while women who were high milk drinkers were also more likely to be older and had more severe OA at baseline. After controlling for covariates, researchers observed a significant dose-response relationship between baseline milk intake and adjusted mean decrease of JSW in women. However, researchers observed no significant association between milk consumption and decrease of JSW in men.

Compared with milk consumption, seven or more servings per week cheese consumption was associated with increased JSW decrease in women. Combined dairy products and yogurt consumption were not associated with JSW change after adjusting for milk consumption and other covariates, according to study results. Researchers found a significant inverse association between milk intake and the risk of OA progression in women after adjustment for covariates, while seven or more glasses per week of milk intake reduced the risk of OA progression in men.

“The gender differences in the relationship of milk consumption with OA progression are not completely understood. Sex differences have been noted in the prevalence, incidence and severity of OA for many years,” Lu told Orthopedics Today. “[In] the current study, women had much lower intake of dietary calcium than men. If dietary calcium is a possible mediation factor to link between milk consumption and knee OA progression, women may be more sensitive for the effect of calcium intake through milk than men.” — by Casey Tingle

Reference:

Lu B. Arthritis Care Res. 2014;doi:10.1002/acr.22297.

Disclosure: The researchers have no relevant financial disclosures.