Moderate full-fat and low-fat yoghurt consumption correlates with reduced mortality risk: a large-scale prospective analysis.

Background: Yoghurt is a commonly consumed fermented food recommended by many guidelines. Yoghurt consumption can contribute to the intake of multiple nutrients and reduce the risk of several diseases. However, prospective evidence is limited on the associations between full/low-fat yoghurt consumption and mortality risk. In this prospective cohort study, we aimed to assess the dose-dependent associations between full/low-fat yoghurt intake and all-cause or cause-specific mortality.

Methods: We enrolled 186 168 participants from the UK Biobank who had joined the study between 2006 and 2010 and were followed up until 2022. We obtained data on self-reported intake of full/low-fat yoghurt and mortality from all causes and specific causes of death, including cancers and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs). We then used Cox proportional hazard models to calculate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) to evaluate the associations between full-fat and low-fat yoghurt intake and mortality. Lastly, we conducted subgroup and sensitivity analyses to examine the robustness of our findings.

Results: A total of 9402 deaths occurred during a mean follow-up of 13.4 years, including 1687 CVD-related and 5073 cancer-related deaths. Relative to non-consumers, the HRs (95% CIs) for all-cause mortality risk in participants consuming >0-50, 50-100, and >100 g of full-fat yoghurt a day were 0.82 (95% CI = 0.72, 0.93), 0.97 (95% CI = 0.86, 1.09), and 0.96 (95% CI = 0.84, 1.1) respectively. The corresponding HR estimates relative to non-consumers for participants consuming low-fat yoghurt were 0.88 (95% CI  = 0.81, 0.95), 0.91 (95% CI = 0.85, 0.98), and 0.95 (95% CI = 0.89, 1.01), respectively. Subgroup analysis indicated women who had moderate consumption of full-fat yoghurt had lower all-cause mortality risk, while men consuming low-fat yoghurt had lower all-cause mortality risk.

Conclusions: Moderate consumption of full-fat and low-fat yoghurt was correlated with decreased all-cause mortality. Future cohort studies are warranted to verify the potential of adopting yoghurt consumption as part of a healthy diet to reduce mortality.