The associations were most beneficial in men over age 50, and continued to have positive associations.
"The results of this study highlight the beneficial role of a combination of dairy foods upon bone health and these beneficial associations remain irrespective of serum vitamin D status in a person,” said Shivani Sahni, Associate Scientist at the Institute For Ageing Research in Boston.
For the findings, published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Density, the team included 1,522 men and 1,104 women, aged 32 to 81 years.
They examined quantitative computed tomography (QCT) measures of bone to determine associations with dairy intake.
However, no significant results was observed in women, except for a positive association of cream intake in the cross sectional area of the bone.