Faculty, Staff and Student Publications
Publication Date
1-1-2024
Journal
Nature Metabolism
Abstract
Cow's milk is frequently included in the human diet, but the relationship between milk intake and type 2 diabetes (T2D) remains controversial. Here, using data from the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos, we show that in both sexes, higher milk intake is associated with lower risk of T2D in lactase non-persistent (LNP) individuals (determined by a variant of the lactase LCT gene, single nucleotide polymorphism rs4988235 ) but not in lactase persistent individuals. We validate this finding in the UK Biobank. Further analyses reveal that among LNP individuals, higher milk intake is associated with alterations in gut microbiota (for example, enriched Bifidobacterium and reduced Prevotella) and circulating metabolites (for example, increased indolepropionate and reduced branched-chain amino acid metabolites). Many of these metabolites are related to the identified milk-associated bacteria and partially mediate the association between milk intake and T2D in LNP individuals. Our study demonstrates a protective association between milk intake and T2D among LNP individuals and a potential involvement of gut microbiota and blood metabolites in this association.
Keywords
Male, Female, Animals, Cattle, Humans, Lactase, Milk, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Genotype, Diet
DOI
10.1038/s42255-023-00961-1
PMID
38253929
PMCID
PMC11097298
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
5-16-2024
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Author MSS
Published Open-Access
yes
Included in
Biochemical Phenomena, Metabolism, and Nutrition Commons, Endocrine System Diseases Commons, Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism Commons, Public Health Commons