NEW YORK -- A new study has confirmed a relationship between consuming large amounts of dairy products and an increase in the rate of Parkinson's disease in men, but the reason for this relationship remains a puzzle. Researchers found that among more than 130,000 U.S. adults followed for 9 years, those who ate the largest amount of dairy foods had an increased risk of developing Parkinson's disease, a disorder in which movement-regulating cells in the brain die or become impaired. There was a clear pattern seen among men, whose Parkinson's risk increased in tandem with consumption of diary, particularly milk. The results were more ambiguous among women, however.
Article Summary: Men with the highest levels of dairy consumption were 60 percent more likely to develop the disease than those who consumed the least amounts of dairy, the study found. The findings echo those of earlier studies that found a link between dairy consumption and Parkinson's in men, but not women. It's not clear what effect, if any, dairy foods might have on women's risk of the disease. Nor is it known why there is a relationship seen in men, said lead study author Dr. Honglei Chen, a researcher at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Larger studies are needed to find out which dairy products might be responsible, and why, according to Chen. Milk, rather than dairy products like yogurt and cheese, explained most of the association, according to Chen's team. This study and previous ones indicate that calcium, vitamin D and fat are not responsible for the link between dairy foods and Parkinson's disease. However, the researcher added, since the dairy-Parkinson's link has now been seen consistently in different studies, further research is needed to understand why.
