Research Article
Milk Consumption Patterns among Persons with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus from Mumbai city – an Exploratory Study
Goyal A1, Mehta A2, Salis S3, Desai S4, Udipi SA5, Vaidya RA6 and Vaidya ADB7
1Junior Research Fellow, Kasturba Health Society’s Medical Research Centre, Mumbai, India
2Consulting Diabetologist, Kasturba Health Society’s Medical Research Centre, Mumbai, India
3Director, Nurture Health Solutions, Mumbai, India
4Post-doctoral Fellow, Kasturba Health Society’s Medical Research Centre, Mumbai, India
5Research Director, Kasturba Health Society’s Medical Research Centre, Mumbai, India
6Honorable Director, Div. of Endocrine and Metabolic Disorders, Kasturba Health Society’s Medical Research Centre, Mumbai, India
7Professor Emeritus, Kasturba Health Society’s Medical Research Centre, Mumbai, India
*Corresponding author: Goyal A, Junior Research Fellow, Kasturba Health Society’s Medical Research Centre, Mumbai, India;
Phone: +91-9029287575; E-mail: goyal.aditi157@gmail.com
Article Information: Submission: 13/06/2021; Accepted: 20/07/2021; Published: 24/07/2021
Copyright: © 2021 Goyal A, et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which
permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Reports of epidemiological studies in the Western world, strongly suggest that consumption of A1 milk is associated with increased risk of Type 1 Diabetes
Mellitus, Autism Spectrum Disorders, etc. However, very few studies in India have addressed this issue. Therefore, an exploratory study was undertaken to
examine the milk consumption patterns of persons with T1DM attending clinics in Mumbai city and their awareness about A1 and A2 milk. Ninety six people
with T1DM were approached, of which seventy five agreed to participate. The average age of participants was 22.4 years (3 - 52 years) (Median = 21 years).
The mean age at diagnosis of type 1 diabetes was 9.5 years (6 months – 29 years) (Median = 9). Among the 75 participants, 64 consumed milk, but 11 did
not consume milk. Almost half the participants (n = 30) had heard about A2 milk. Only ten participants (14.7%) had begun consuming A2 milk when it became
commercially available, for reasons of their own or family members’ health. Knowledge about A1/A2 milk and the possible role of A1 milk in the onset of
diabetes was relatively poor and only twelve participants had some knowledge about the possible health implications.