The association between dairy intake in adolescents with inflammation and risk markers of type 2 diabetes during young adulthood – results of the DONALD study

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: The aim of this analysis was to investigate whether habitual intake of total dairy (TD) or different dairy types (liquid, solid, fermented, not-fermented, low-fat, high-fat, low-sugar and high-sugar dairy) during adolescence is associated with biomarkers of low-grade inflammation as well as risk factors of type 2 diabetes in young adulthood. DESIGN: Multivariable linear regression analyses were used to investigate prospective associations between estimated TD intake as well as intake of different types of dairy and a pro-inflammatory score, based on hsCRP, IL-6, IL-18, leptin and adiponectin, and insulin resistance assessed as HOMA2-IR in an open cohort study. SETTING: Dortmund, Germany PARTICIPANTS: Data from participants (n=375) of the DOrtmund Nutritional and Anthropometric Longitudinally Designed (DONALD) study were included, for whom at least two 3-day weighed dietary records during adolescence (median age: 11 years) and one blood sample in young adulthood (>18 years) were available. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant association between TD intake or intake of any dairy type and the pro-inflammatory score (all p>0.05). TD intake as well as each dairy type intake and insulin resistance also showed no association (all p>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The habitual intake of dairy or individual types of dairy during adolescence does not seem to have a major impact on low-grade systemic inflammation and insulin resistance in the long term. There was no indication regarding a restriction of dairy intake for healthy children and adolescents in terms of diabetes risk reduction.