Funding sources and outcomes of dairy consumption research – A meta-analysis of cohort studies: The case of type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases

Despite requirements to disclose funding sources and contributors involved with published research, industry-funded research is frequently viewed as inherently biased. A meta-analysis (29 cohort studies) was conducted to investigate the association between dairy consumption and the risk of type-2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular diseases (CVD), comparing findings from industry-funded versus non-industry-funded research. Pooled results indicated an inverse association between dairy intake and the risk of T2D and CVD (RR = 0.923; 95% CI: 0.884–0.964; p < 0.001). Studies funded by neutral organisations (21) indicated that dairy consumption is significantly associated with decreased risk of developing T2D and CVD (RR = 0.920; 95% CI: 0.875–0.967; p < 0.01), whereas for studies funded by the food industry (8), the results were not significant (RR = 0.932; 95% CI: 0.854–1.017; p = 0.115). Subgroup analysis showed that there were no significant differences between industry-funded and neutral, non-industry-funded research studies.