Lactose Intolerants At Lower Risk Of Certain Cancers: Study

"We investigated whether low consumption of milk and other dairy products protects lactose-intolerant people against breast and ovarian cancers.

"Since epidemiological and animal studies show that milk consumption and lung cancer risk are both associated with the protein IGF-1 (insulin like growth factor 1), we also investigated lung cancer," Ji added.

"Using nationwide data from two Swedish registers (the Inpatient Register and the Outpatient Register) we identified 22,788 individuals with lactose intolerance and examined their risk of suffering from lung, breast and ovarian cancers.

The risks of lung cancer, breast cancer and ovarian cancer were significantly lower in people with lactose intolerance compared to people without lactose intolerance, irrespective of country of birth and gender, said Ji.

"By contrast, the risks in their siblings and parents were the same as in the general population. This suggests that the lower cancer risk in people with lactose intolerance may be due to their diet," said Ji.

Factors such as lower calorie intake of because of low milk consumption and protective factors in plant-based milk drinks may contribute to the observed negative association between lactose intolerance and the studied cancers.

"We must interpret these results with caution because the association we found is insufficient to conclude a causative effect," said Ji.

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