Survey finds most men unaware of dairy link to prostate cancer risk

A Morning Consult survey of 1,102 U.S. men reveals that 80% are unaware that dairy consumption can increase prostate cancer risk. Despite scientific studies linking dairy to higher cancer incidence and mortality, only 20% of respondents received nutritional advice from healthcare professionals. When informed of the risks, 66% of men expressed a willingness to avoid dairy, and 76% supported warning labels on dairy products, highlighting a critical gap in public health education.

Dairy-prostate cancer awareness gap

• ▪The Morning Consult survey found that 66% of the surveyed U.S. men said they would likely avoid dairy products once informed of the increased prostate cancer risk
• ▪A Morning Consult survey of 1,102 U.S. men conducted for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine found that only 20% of respondents knew that consuming dairy products can increase prostate cancer risk
• ▪The Morning Consult survey found that 76% of the surveyed U.S. men supported requiring warning labels on dairy products to inform consumers about prostate cancer risk

Dairy consumption risk studies

• ▪A meta-analysis of 11 studies involving over 700,000 participants found that men with the highest consumption of whole milk had up to a 50% higher risk of death from prostate cancer than those with the lowest consumption
• ▪A meta-analysis of 32 studies found evidence of an elevated risk of prostate cancer among people consuming larger amounts of dairy products
• ▪A study cited by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine found that individuals consuming at least one serving of skim or low-fat milk daily had a 19% increased risk of prostate cancer compared to those who rarely drank it
• ▪A study tracking 3,612 men for 8 to 10 years found that men consuming about 3 servings of low-fat dairy per day were more than twice as likely to develop prostate cancer as those consuming less than 1 serving per day

Plant-based diet benefits

• ▪A study of over 2,000 men diagnosed with prostate cancer found that those who consumed the most plant-based foods had a 56% lower risk of cancer progression and a 59% lower risk of recurrence compared to those who consumed the fewest
• ▪The Adventist Health Study-2 found that men following a vegan diet had a 35% lower prostate cancer risk compared to men following nonvegetarian, lacto-ovo-vegetarian, pesco-vegetarian, or semi-vegetarian diets

Prostate cancer mortality rates

• ▪The American Cancer Society's 2024 annual report identifies prostate cancer as the most common cancer and the second most common cause of cancer death among men in the United States
• ▪The American Cancer Society estimates that 333,830 new cases of prostate cancer will be diagnosed and 36,320 people will die from the disease in the United States in 2026

Healthcare professional education needs

• ▪The Morning Consult survey found that only 20% of the surveyed U.S. men had received information from a healthcare professional about the relationship between nutrition and prostate cancer risk
• ▪Noah Praamsma of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine stated that physicians and other healthcare professionals need more education on the dangers of dairy products and the benefits of a plant-based diet for prostate cancer

Debatable claims

• ▪Dairy products should carry warning labels about prostate cancer risk
• ▪Doctors should actively advise male patients to avoid dairy products