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Effect of Milk and Other Dairy Products on the Risk of Frailty, Sarcopenia, and Cognitive Performance Decline in the Elderly: A Systematic Review
Cuesta-Triana F, Verdejo-Bravo C, Fernández-Pérez C, Martín-Sánchez FJ.. Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 2019-05-01
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Nutrition is a modifiable factor potentially related to aging. Milk and other dairy products may contribute to the prevention of physical and cognitive impairment. We conducted a systematic review to investigate the effectiveness of dairy product intake for preventing cognitive decline, sarcopenia, and frailty in the elderly population. A systematic search for publications in electronic databases [MEDLINE via PubMed, Embase, Scopus, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews] from 2009 to 2018 identified observational and interventional studies in English and Spanish that tested the relation between dairy product consumption and cognitive decline, sarcopenia, and frailty in community-dwelling older people. We assessed the participants, the type of exposure or intervention, the outcomes, and the quality of evidence. We screened a total of 661 records and included 6 studies (5 observational prospective cohort studies and 1 randomized controlled trial). Regarding cognitive impairment, the relation cannot be firmly established. Consumption of milk at midlife may be negatively associated with verbal memory performance. In older women, high intakes of dairy desserts and ice cream were associated with cognitive decline. On the other hand, 1 study demonstrated a significant inverse relation between dairy intake and development of Alzheimer disease among older Japanese subjects. The consumption of dairy products by older people may reduce the risk of frailty, especially with high consumption of low-fat milk and yogurt, and may also reduce the risk of sarcopenia by improving skeletal muscle mass through the addition of nutrient-rich dairy proteins (ricotta cheese) to the habitual diet. Despite the scarcity of evidence on the topic, our systematic review shows that there are some positive effects of dairy products on frailty and sarcopenia, whereas studies concerning cognitive decline have contradictory findings.
Key findings
- Consumption of milk at midlife may be negatively associated with verbal memory performance.
- In older women, high intakes of dairy desserts and ice cream were associated with cognitive decline.
- On the other hand, 1 study demonstrated a significant inverse relation between dairy intake and development of Alzheimer disease among older Japanese subjects.
Why it matters
This review of six studies found that the relationship between dairy intake and cognitive impairment cannot be firmly established, with some studies linking midlife milk or high intake of dairy desserts and ice cream to worse cognitive measures and one study linking dairy intake to lower Alzheimer disease development. The evidence is mixed and mostly observational, so no clear dietary recommendation for preventing cognitive decline can be drawn.
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Study details
- Study designrandomized controlled trial
- Participants661
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 63/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal, and it is a systematic review of all the studies on the question. Scored zero for effect reported because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.)) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Advances in Nutrition: journal h-index 187 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 12 / 12 | A systematic review of all the studies on the question (from PubMed type “Systematic Review”) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 2 / 5 | 2019 — within 10 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 661 participants |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | A review of other studies — randomisation is not credited here |
| Times cited | 5 / 7 | Cited 135 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 3 / 5 | 15.0 citations a year over 9 year(s) since 2019 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 1 / 6 | Cited by 2 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 3 / 4 | Cited 59 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Francisco Javier Martín‐Sánchez: h-index 52 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Universidad Complutense de Madrid: institution h-index 656 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 31089731) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 63 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
Full text: free to read — PubMed Central lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 10 Oct 2026).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Cuesta-Triana, F., Verdejo-Bravo, C., Fernández-Pérez, C., & Martín-Sánchez, F. J. (2019). Effect of Milk and Other Dairy Products on the Risk of Frailty, Sarcopenia, and Cognitive Performance Decline in the Elderly: A Systematic Review. Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.). https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmy105
Vancouver
Cuesta-Triana F, Verdejo-Bravo C, Fernández-Pérez C, Martín-Sánchez FJ. Effect of Milk and Other Dairy Products on the Risk of Frailty, Sarcopenia, and Cognitive Performance Decline in the Elderly: A Systematic Review. Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.). 2019. doi:10.1093/advances/nmy105. PMID: 31089731.
BibTeX
@article{cuestatriana2019-31089731,
author = {Cuesta-Triana, F. and Verdejo-Bravo, C. and Fernández-Pérez, C. and Martín-Sánchez, F. J.},
title = {{Effect of Milk and Other Dairy Products on the Risk of Frailty, Sarcopenia, and Cognitive Performance Decline in the Elderly: A Systematic Review}},
journal = {Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.)},
year = {2019},
doi = {10.1093/advances/nmy105},
pmid = {31089731},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmy105}
}
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