Cheese and dementia risk: A long-term Swedish study has reported that people who ate more full-fat cheese and full-fat cream were less likely to develop dementia over time. The findings, published in Neurology, show an association; they do not prove these foods prevent dementia.
Researchers followed 27,670 adults (average age 58 at the start) for about 25 years. During the follow-up period, 3,208 participants developed dementia. Diet was assessed using a week-long food record, along with questionnaires about usual intake over previous years and how foods were prepared.
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Those eating 50 grams or more of high-fat cheese daily were diagnosed with dementia at a lower rate than those eating under 15 grams (about 10% versus 13% by the end of the study). After adjusting for age, sex, education and overall diet quality, higher high-fat cheese intake was linked to a 13% lower risk of dementia, including a 29% lower risk of vascular dementia. The study also noted a lower Alzheimer’s risk tied to higher high-fat cheese intake, but only in people without the APOE e4 genetic risk variant.
For cream, people consuming 20 grams or more of high-fat cream daily had a 16% lower risk of dementia compared with those who reported consuming none, after similar adjustments.
No clear links were found for low-fat cheese or cream, milk, butter, or fermented dairy such as yoghurt and kefir. The researchers said the results may not apply everywhere because the study was conducted only in Sweden, where dairy eating habits differ from other countries, and called for further research in other populations.