Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41019545›Full record

SynthesisFrontiers in nutrition2025

Fermented dairy product consumption and blood lipid levels in healthy adults: a systematic review.

Birsen Yilmaz, Panagiota Alvanoudi, Aggeliki Kalogeropoulou, Dushica Santa, Tuğçe Bulmuş-Tüccar, Anastasios Nikolaou, Isabel Moreno-Indias, Patricia Ruiz-Limon, Carolina Gutiérrez-Repiso, Elaine Hillesheim and 7 more

Abstract readSystematic Review
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Frontiers in nutrition, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
5citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

5 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. The doseFrontiers in nutrition · 2026
    Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Review
  5. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

17 authors.

Birsen YilmazDepartment of Biological Sciences, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Hyderabad, India.
Panagiota Alvanoudi *Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Technology, School of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Aggeliki Kalogeropoulou *Laboratory of Food Chemistry and Technology, School of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.
Dushica SantaFaculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, Skopje, North Macedonia.
Tuğçe Bulmuş-Tüccar *Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Yüksek İhtisas University, Ankara, Türkiye.
Anastasios Nikolaou *Department of Molecular Biology & Genetics, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece.
Isabel Moreno-Indias *Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga y Plataforma en Nanomedicina-IBIMA Plataforma BIONAND, Málaga, Spain.
Patricia Ruiz-Limon *Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga y Plataforma en Nanomedicina-IBIMA Plataforma BIONAND, Málaga, Spain.
Carolina Gutiérrez-Repiso *Instituto de Investigación Biomédica de Málaga y Plataforma en Nanomedicina-IBIMA Plataforma BIONAND, Málaga, Spain.
Elaine Hillesheim *Agroscope, Liebefeld, Bern, Switzerland.
Victoria MeslierUniversité Paris-Saclay, INRAE, MetaGenoPolis, Jouy-en-Josas, France.
Baltasar MayoInstituto de Productos Lácteos de Asturias (IPLA-CSIC), Oviedo, Spain.
Jeadran MalagonObservatorio Nacional de Salud, Instituto Nacional de Salud, Bogotá, Colombia.
Christophe ChassardINRAE, UMR 1019, UNH, CRNH Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France.
Smilja PraćerInstitute for Biological Research Siniša Stanković, National Institute of the Republic of Serbia, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia.
Guy VergeresAgroscope, Liebefeld, Bern, Switzerland.
Fani Th MantzouridouLaboratory of Food Chemistry and Technology, School of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases remain the leading cause of global mortality, with diet recognized as a key factor influencing cardiovascular risk biomarkers such as blood lipids. Emerging evidence suggests fermented dairy products may offer cardioprotective benefits via fermentation-derived bioactive metabolites. This systematic review, conducted within COST Action CA20218 Promoting Innovation of ferMENTed fOods (PIMENTO), evaluated the relationship between consumption of conventional fermented dairy products and blood lipid levels and cardiovascular diseases in healthy adults. Data were qualitatively summarized and synthesized narratively, following the European Food Safety Authority's (EFSA) scientific guidance for health claim applications, including food characterization, bioavailability of relevant compounds, mechanisms of action, and safety. Sixty-eight studies were included: 14 controlled interventions (PICO), 37 non-controlled interventions (PIO), and 17 observational studies. Findings from intervention studies were largely inconsistent, with most trials reporting no significant changes in lipid markers following fermented dairy intake. However, a few studies reported modest reductions in total cholesterol and LDL-c or improved LDL/HDL ratios, particularly with yoghurt and kefir. Observational studies also yielded mixed and inconclusive results. Overall, study quality, result consistency, and mechanistic evidence were deemed "neither convincing nor sufficient" per EFSA criteria. Key limitations included high risk of bias, heterogeneous designs, inadequate product characterization, and limited mechanistic data. More rigorous, well-controlled human studies with appropriate comparators are needed to clarify whether conventional fermented dairy products have any lipid-lowering effects. Systematic review registration: osf.io/h2mbe/.

Indexed as

cardiovascular diseasescheesecholesterolfermented dairykefirmetabolic markerstriglyceridesyogurt

Identifiers

PMID41019545
PMCPMC12461264

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.