People who are lactose intolerant enjoy protection against some common cancers, researchers have revealed.
This may be because they tend to eat low-calorie diets and use plant-based milk substitutes, according to the Swedish researchers.
Researchers found that these people have a reduced risk of cancers of the lung, breast and ovaries.
Researchers used hospital records in Sweden to identify some 22,788 people with lactose intolerance.
They found their risk of lung cancer was nearly halved and that women with the problem enjoyed a similar reduction in risk of ovarian cancer together with a 21% reduced risk of breast cancer.
Researchers also checked the families of people with lactose intolerance and found they did not enjoy similar protection against cancer – suggesting the reason for the protection is not genetic.
They reported their findings in the British Journal of Cancer.
Researcher Professor Jianguang Ji, of Lund University, Sweden, said: ”We must interpret these results with caution because the association we found is insufficient to conclude a causative effect.
”Further studies are needed to identify factors that explain the study’s results.”
Lactose intolerance and risk of lung, breast and ovarian cancers: aetiological clues from a population-based study in Sweden. British Journal of Cancer 14 October 2014; doi: 10.1038/bjc.2014.544 [abstract]
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