High dairy intake and colorectal cancer

Children who consume high levels of diary products may have a greater risk of developing colorectal cancer in adulthood. British and Australian researchers studied 4999 children living in England and Scotland and followed them for an average of 65 years. Among the 4,383 individuals still available for follow-up between 1948 and 2005, 35 registrations and 41 deaths from colorectal cancer were identified. During the follow-up period, 770 cancer registrations or cancer deaths occurred. It was found that those who grew up in families reporting the highest levels of dairy consumption — the daily dairy intake ranged from less than half a cup at the lowest to nearly two cups at the highest — had nearly three times the risk of colorectal cancer compared with those from families reporting the lowest intake. An increased risk of colorectal cancer among those who consumed the highest amounts of dairy products during childhood was still seen after the data was adjusted for potentially influential factors such as meat, fruit and vegetable consumption; and socio-economic status. The reason for worry is that the level of dairy consumption in the high-diary group was similar to the estimated average daily intake of children in the United States, and 94 per cent of the diary products came from drinking milk. However, more complete life-course assessments comparing dairy intake with related dietary and lifestyle factors must be completed before definitive conclusions can be made for dairy intake in childhood.