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Soy boosts women's bones

Supplementation with a drink rich in soy isoflavones does significantly improve spine bone density in post-menopausal women, but the effects are not significant in men, says a new trial from the US.

Previous studies have reported conflicting results concerning soy isoflavones (40 to 99mg/d doses) and bone health for postmenopausal women. However, no long term studies looking at the potential benefits in men have been reported, said the researchers.

“This is the first study to evaluate the effect of soy supplementation on BMD in older men,” wrote lead author Katherine Newton.

How the study was done
Newton and her colleagues from the University of Washington, Group Health Cooperative and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center performed a controlled, parallel-arm, double-blinded trial with 145 participants (average age 68, average BMI 29kg per sq m, 123 men).

The study was part of a larger trial looking at the effects of soy isoflavones on colon health. Only participants with colonic polyps were recruited.

The participants were randomly assigned to receive a soy beverage every day for 12 months. One drink contained 83mg of isoflavones (45,6mg genistein, 31,7mg daidzein), while the other contained only 3mg. Both drinks were obtained from the Solae Company. Bone mineral density (BMD) at the hip and spine was measured at the start and end of the study using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry.

Compliance, defined as those who consumed 80 percent or more of the packets, varied between the groups, said the researchers, with about 73 percent of women in isoflavone-rich drink group, but only 44 percent of the women in the control group consumed this amount. For men, compliance was 62 percent for the isoflavone-rich drink group and 82,5 percent for the control soy drink group.

Improvements in BMD was observed for both sexes, particularly at the spine, with the isoflavone-rich drink associated with a 1 percent greater increase in men, relative to the control group. This result was not statistically significant, said the researchers.

Increase in spinal BMD
In women, spinal BMD increased by a significant 2,5 percent, compared to the control soy drink group. “By comparison, percent change in hip BMD was similar in the [isoflavone-rich drink] groups, and was not different between men and women,” said Newton.

“Supplementation of intact soy protein providing 83mg isoflavones daily tended to increase both hip and spine BMD in men and women, with a borderline statistically significant effect on spine BMD among women at 12 months,” said the researchers.

The study does have several limitations of note, including the small number of women participants. No markers of bone metabolism and resorption were measured. Also, all of the participants had been diagnosed with polyps in the colon.

“We have no reason to believe that the bone response to soy isoflavones of individuals with adenomatous polyps would differ from that of individuals without polyps, but this remains a possibility,” wrote Newton.

Larger, longer trials needed
This study does not close the door on the potential benefits for men and women, and the researchers said that, ultimately, larger and longer trials including both men and women are needed to answer the question.

Such clarification may not be too far away, however, with large clinical trails currently underway on both sides of the Atlantic.

“If positive effects on BMD are found, trials with fracture outcomes might be warranted in the future,” said the researchers.

“Currently there is insufficient evidence to recommend soy isoflavone supplementation for osteoporosis or fracture prevention,” they said. - (Decision News Media, December 2006)

Read more:
Soy yoghurt may help diabetics
Soy isoflavones boost bone health

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