1 Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública Centro de Investigación en Nutrición y Salud, Cuernavaca, México; 2 Instituto Nacional de Salud Pública. Centro de Salud Poblacional, Cuernavaca, México.
We undertook this study to compare the effect of consuming whole, partially defatted and defatted cow’s milk for 4 months on serum concentrations of blood indicators of cardiovascular risk (CVR) in Mexican children and adolescents. Children 6-16 years of age living in indigenous boarding schools in México and who were usual consumers of whole milk were recruited. Thirteen defatted cow’s milk for 4 months. Serum total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), Apo-lipoproteins A (ApoA) and total B (ApoB), and Lp(a) concentrations were measured before and after the intervention. Comparisons were made with multilevel mixed-effects linear regression models using the difference in differences approach. Compared with the whole milk group, TC, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-c), HDL-c, and total ApoB were lower in defatted milk consumers by -0.42, -0.27, -0.16 mmol/L and -0.045 g/L, respectively (all p<0.001). Compared with the whole milk group, the group who consumed partially defatted milk showed a significant decrease in the concentrations of LDLc (-0.11, p=0.01), ApoA (-0.04 g/L, p=0.01) and total ApoB (-0.04 g/L, p=0.001). Defatted milk consumption reduced some cardiovascular risks. Fat energy was compensated by a larger intake of carbohydrates, especially from tortillas.