Soy intake and vasomotor menopausal symptoms among midlife women: a pooled analysis of five studies from the InterLACE consortium (2024)

Table of Contents
Subjects Abstract Background/objectives Subjects/methods Results Conclusions Access options Additional access options: Similar content being viewed by others Soy intake and chronic disease risk: findings from prospective cohort studies in Japan Low anti-Müllerian hormone levels are associated with an increased risk of incident early-onset vasomotor symptoms among premenopausal women High low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level is associated with an increased risk of incident early-onset vasomotor symptoms References Acknowledgements Funding Author information Authors and Affiliations Contributions Corresponding author Ethics declarations Conflict of interest Additional information Supplementary information Supplementary information Rights and permissions About this article Cite this article This article is cited by Soy intake and chronic disease risk: findings from prospective cohort studies in Japan References
  • Article
  • Published:

Epidemiology

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume73,pages 1501–1511 (2019)Cite this article

  • 696 Accesses

  • 5 Citations

  • 2 Altmetric

  • Metrics details

Subjects

  • Nutrition
  • Scientific community

Abstract

Background/objectives

Phytoestrogen rich-foods such as soy may be associated with less frequent/severe vasomotor menopausal symptoms (VMS), although evidence is limited. We thus investigated the associations between the consumption of soy products and soy milk and the frequency/severity of VMS.

Subjects/methods

We pooled data from 19,351 middle-aged women from five observational studies in Australia, UK, USA, and Japan that contribute to the International Collaboration for a Life course Approach to reproductive health and Chronic disease Events (InterLACE). Information on soy consumption, VMS and covariates were collected by self-report. We included 11,006 women who had complete data on soy consumption, VMS and covariates at baseline for the cross-sectional analysis. For the prospective analysis, 4522 women who were free of VMS at baseline and had complete data on VMS at follow-up were considered. Multinomial logistic regression and binary logistic regression models were used.

Results

No statistically significant evidence of an association was found between soy products (relative risk ratio (RRR): 0.92, 95% CI: 0.76–1.11) or soy milk (RRR: 1.24, 95% CI: 0.93–1.65) and the likelihood of reporting frequent or severe VMS cross-sectionally. Prospective results indicated that frequent consumption of soy products (odds ratio (OR): 0.63, 95% CI: 0.45–0.89) but not soy milk (OR: 1.11, 95% CI: 0.85–1.45) was associated with lower likelihood of reporting subsequent VMS, after adjustment for socio-demographic and reproductive factors.

Conclusions

These are the first ever findings from pooled observational data of association between consumption of soy products and VMS.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access through your institution

Change institution

Buy or subscribe

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 12 print issues and online access

$259.00 per year

only $21.58 per issue

Learn more

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Soy intake and vasomotor menopausal symptoms among midlife women: a pooled analysis of five studies from the InterLACE consortium (1)
Soy intake and vasomotor menopausal symptoms among midlife women: a pooled analysis of five studies from the InterLACE consortium (2)

Similar content being viewed by others

Soy intake and vasomotor menopausal symptoms among midlife women: a pooled analysis of five studies from the InterLACE consortium (3)

Soy intake and chronic disease risk: findings from prospective cohort studies in Japan

Article 11 September 2020

Soy intake and vasomotor menopausal symptoms among midlife women: a pooled analysis of five studies from the InterLACE consortium (4)

Low anti-Müllerian hormone levels are associated with an increased risk of incident early-onset vasomotor symptoms among premenopausal women

Article Open access 13 July 2022

Soy intake and vasomotor menopausal symptoms among midlife women: a pooled analysis of five studies from the InterLACE consortium (5)

High low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level is associated with an increased risk of incident early-onset vasomotor symptoms

Article Open access 27 August 2022

References

  1. Lethaby A, Marjoribanks J, Kronenberg F, Roberts H, Eden J, Brown J. Phytoestrogens for menopausal vasomotor symptoms. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2013:Cd001395.

  2. Gold EB, Colvin A, Avis N, Bromberger J, Greendale GA, Powell L, et al. Longitudinal analysis of the association between vasomotor symptoms and race/ethnicity across the menopausal transition: study of women’s health across the nation. Am J Public Health. 2006;96:1226–35.

    Article Google Scholar

  3. Rapkin AJ. Vasomotor symptoms in menopause: physiologic condition and central nervous system approaches to treatment. Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2007;196:97–106.

    Article Google Scholar

  4. Pines A. Vasomotor symptoms and cardiovascular disease risk. Climacteric. 2011;14:535–6.

    Article CAS Google Scholar

  5. Biglia N, Cagnacci A, Gambacciani M, Lello S, Maffei S, Nappi RE. Vasomotor symptoms in menopause: a biomarker of cardiovascular disease risk and other chronic diseases? Climacteric. 2017;20:306–12.

    Article CAS Google Scholar

  6. Levis S, Griebeler ML. The role of soy foods in the treatment of menopausal symptoms. J Nutr. 2010;140:2318s–2321s.

    Article CAS Google Scholar

  7. Baber R. Phytoestrogens and post reproductive health. Maturitas. 2010;66:344–9.

    Article CAS Google Scholar

  8. Sievert LL, Morrison L, Brown DE, Reza AM. Vasomotor symptoms among Japanese-American and European-American women living in Hilo, Hawaii. Menopause. 2007;14:261–9.

    Article Google Scholar

  9. Nagata C, Takatsuka N, Kawakami N, Shimizu H. Soy product intake and hot flashes in Japanese women: results from a community-based prospective study. Am J Epidemiol. 2001;153:790–3.

    Article CAS Google Scholar

  10. Carmignani LO, Pedro AO, Costa-Paiva LH, Pinto-Neto AM. The effect of dietary soy supplementation compared to estrogen and placebo on menopausal symptoms: a randomized controlled trial. Maturitas. 2010;67:262–9.

    Article CAS Google Scholar

  11. Khaodhiar L, Ricciotti HA, Li L, Pan W, Schickel M, Zhou J, et al. Daidzein-rich isoflavone aglycones are potentially effective in reducing hot flashes in menopausal women. Menopause. 2008;15:125–32.

    PubMed PubMed Central Google Scholar

  12. Ye YB, Wang ZL, Zhuo SY, Lu W, Liao HF, Verbruggen M, et al. Soy germ isoflavones improve menopausal symptoms but have no effect on blood lipids in early postmenopausal Chinese women: a randomized placebo-controlled trial. Menopause. 2012;19:791–8.

    Article Google Scholar

  13. Mishra GD, Chung HF, Pandeya N, Dobson AJ, Jones L, Avis NE, et al. The InterLACE study: design, data harmonization and characteristics across 20 studies on women’s health. Maturitas. 2016;92:176–85.

    Article Google Scholar

  14. Mishra GD, Anderson D, Schoenaker DA, Adami HO, Avis NE, Brown D, et al. InterLACE: A New International Collaboration for a Life Course Approach to Women’s Reproductive Health and Chronic Disease Events. Maturitas. 2013;74:235–40.

    Article Google Scholar

  15. Lee C, Dobson AJ, Brown WJ, Bryson L, Byles J, Warner-Smith P, et al. Cohort Profile: the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health. Int J Epidemiol. 2005;34:987–91.

    Article Google Scholar

  16. Marmot M, Brunner E. Cohort Profile: the Whitehall II study. Int J Epidemiol. 2005;34:251–6.

    Article Google Scholar

  17. Mitchell ES, Woods NF. Cognitive symptoms during the menopausal transition and early postmenopause. Climacteric. 2011;14:252–61.

    Article CAS Google Scholar

  18. Anderson D, Yoshizawa T, Gollschewski S, Atogami F, Courtney M. Menopause in Australia and Japan: effects of country of residence on menopausal status and menopausal symptoms. Climacteric. 2004;7:165–74.

    Article CAS Google Scholar

  19. Nutrient Data L. USDA database for the isoflavone content of selected foods, release 2.0. Beltsville, Md: U.S. Department of Agriculture; 2008.

    Google Scholar

  20. Thompson LU, Boucher BA, Liu Z, Cotterchio M, Kreiger N. Phytoestrogen content of foods consumed in Canada, including isoflavones, lignans, and coumestan. Nutr Cancer. 2006;54:184–201.

    Article CAS Google Scholar

  21. Stuenkel CA, Davis SR, Gompel A, Lumsden MA, Murad MH, Pinkerton JV, et al. Treatment of symptoms of the menopause: an Endocrine Society Clinical Practice Guideline. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2015;100:3975–4011.

    Article CAS Google Scholar

  22. Welty FK, Lee KS, Lew NS, Nasca M, Zhou JR. The association between soy nut consumption and decreased menopausal symptoms. J Women’s Health. 2007;16:361–9.

    Article Google Scholar

  23. Cheng G, Wilczek B, Warner M, Gustafsson JA, Landgren BM. Isoflavone treatment for acute menopausal symptoms. Menopause. 2007;14:468–73.

    Article Google Scholar

  24. Nahas EA, Nahas-Neto J, Orsatti FL, Carvalho EP, Oliveira ML, Dias R. Efficacy and safety of a soy isoflavone extract in postmenopausal women: a randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled study. Maturitas. 2007;58:249–58.

    Article CAS Google Scholar

  25. Burke GL, Legault C, Anthony M, Bland DR, Morgan TM, Naughton MJ, et al. Soy protein and isoflavone effects on vasomotor symptoms in peri- and postmenopausal women: the Soy Estrogen Alternative Study. Menopause. 2003;10:147–53.

    Article Google Scholar

  26. Penotti M, Fabio E, Modena AB, Rinaldi M, Omodei U, Viganó P. Effect of soy-derived isoflavones on hot flushes, endometrial thickness, and the pulsatility index of the uterine and cerebral arteries. Fertil Steril. 2003;79:1112–7.

    Article Google Scholar

  27. Williamson-Hughes PS, Flickinger BD, Messina MJ, Empie MW. Isoflavone supplements containing predominantly genistein reduce hot flash symptoms: a critical review of published studies. Menopause. 2006;13:831–9.

    Article Google Scholar

  28. Sturdee DW. The menopausal hot flush—anything new? Maturitas. 2008;60:42–49.

    Article CAS Google Scholar

  29. Pachman DR, Jones JM, Loprinzi CL. Management of menopause-associated vasomotor symptoms: current treatment options, challenges and future directions. Int J Women’s Health. 2010;2:123–35.

    CAS Google Scholar

  30. Moreira AC, Silva AM, Santos MS, Sardão VA. Phytoestrogens as alternative hormone replacement therapy in menopause: what is real, what is unknown. J Steroid Biochem Mol Biol. 2014;143:61–71.

    Article CAS Google Scholar

    See Also
    The Effect of Soy Isoflavones on the Menopause Rating Scale Scoring in Perimenopausal and Postmenopausal Women: A Pilot Study

  31. Rietjens I, Louisse J, Beekmann K. The potential health effects of dietary phytoestrogens. Br J Pharmacol. 2017;174:1263–80.

    Article CAS Google Scholar

  32. Kuiper GG, Lemmen JG, Carlsson B, Corton JC, Safe SH, van der Saag PT, et al. Interaction of estrogenic chemicals and phytoestrogens with estrogen receptor beta. Endocrinology. 1998;139:4252–63.

    Article CAS Google Scholar

  33. Morrow PKH, Mattair DN, Hortobagyi GN. Hot flashes: a review of pathophysiology and treatment modalities. Oncologist. 2011;16:1658–64.

    Article CAS Google Scholar

  34. Setchell KDR, Cole SJ. Variations in isoflavone levels in soy foods and soy protein isolates and issues related to isoflavone databases and food labeling. J Agric Food Chem. 2003;51:4146–55.

    Article CAS Google Scholar

  35. Luoto R. Hot flushes and quality of life during menopause. BMC Women’s Health. 2009;9:13.

    Article Google Scholar

  36. Monteleone P, Mascagni G, Giannini A, Genazzani AR, Simoncini T. Symptoms of menopause—global prevalence, physiology and implications. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2018;14:199–215.

    Article Google Scholar

  37. Woods NF, Mitchell ES. Symptoms during the perimenopause: prevalence, severity, trajectory, and significance in women’s lives. Am J Med. 2005;118(Suppl 12B):14–24.

    Article Google Scholar

Download references

See Also
The Impact of Soy Isoflavone Supplementation on the Menopausal Symptoms in Perimenopausal and Postmenopausal WomenThe Health Benefits of IsoflavonesThe Impact of Soy Isoflavone Supplementation on the... : Journal of Mid-life HealthCan Soy Ease Menopause Symptoms?

Acknowledgements

The data on which this research are based were drawn from five observational studies. The research included data from the ALSWH, the University of Newcastle, Australia, and the University of Queensland, Australia. We are grateful to the Australian Government Department of Health for funding and to the women who provided the survey data. SMWHS was supported in part by grants from the National Institute of Nursing Research. HOW and JMWHS (also called Australian and Japanese Midlife Women’s Health Study) were supported by the Queensland University of Technology Early Career Research Grant and the JSPS Grant-in-aid for Scientific Research. The Whitehall II study is supported by grants from the Medical Research Council (K013351), British Heart Foundation (BHF RG/16/11/32334) and US National Institutes on Aging (R01AG013196 and R01AG034454). All study teams would like to thank the participants for volunteering their time to be involved in the respective studies. The findings and views in this paper are not those from the original studies or their respective funding agencies.

Funding

InterLACE project is funded by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council project grant (APP1027196). GDM is supported by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council Principal Research Fellowship (APP1121844). YD is in receipt of a scholarship from the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, UK. The funders had no role in study design, data collection, and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nutritional Epidemiology Group, School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Yashvee Dunneram,Janet E. Cade&Darren C. Greenwood

  2. School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Hsin-Fang Chung,Annette J. Dobson&Gita D. Mishra

  3. Family and Child Nursing, School of Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Ellen S. Mitchell

  4. Biobehavioral Nursing and Health Systems, School of Nursing, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Nancy F. Woods

  5. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, UK

    Eric J. Brunner

  6. Department of Women’s Health Nursing, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan

    Toyoko Yoshizawa

  7. Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

    Debra Anderson

Authors

  1. Yashvee Dunneram

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar

  2. Hsin-Fang Chung

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar

  3. Janet E. Cade

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar

  4. Darren C. Greenwood

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar

  5. Annette J. Dobson

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar

  6. Ellen S. Mitchell

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar

  7. Nancy F. Woods

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar

  8. Eric J. Brunner

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar

  9. Toyoko Yoshizawa

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar

  10. Debra Anderson

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar

  11. Gita D. Mishra

    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMedGoogle Scholar

Contributions

The authors’ responsibilities were as follows—GDM: conceived the study; YD, HFC and GDM: designed the research and had primary responsibility for the final content; JEC, DCG, AJD, ESM, NFW, EJB, TY and DA: contributed to the data; YD: performed the statistical analysis and wrote the manuscript; HFC, DCG, JEC, AJD and GDM: provided statistical input, helped with interpretation of the results and reviewed the manuscript for important intellectual content; and all authors: read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yashvee Dunneram.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

JEC is the director of a university spin out company, Dietary Assessment Ltd. The remaining authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher’s note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Sources of support: Commonwealth Scholarship, Australian National Health and Medical Research Council project grant (APP1027196 & APP1121844)

Supplementary information

Rights and permissions

About this article

Soy intake and vasomotor menopausal symptoms among midlife women: a pooled analysis of five studies from the InterLACE consortium (6)

Cite this article

Dunneram, Y., Chung, HF., Cade, J.E. et al. Soy intake and vasomotor menopausal symptoms among midlife women: a pooled analysis of five studies from the InterLACE consortium. Eur J Clin Nutr 73, 1501–1511 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-019-0398-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41430-019-0398-9

This article is cited by

Soy intake and vasomotor menopausal symptoms among midlife women: a pooled analysis of five studies from the InterLACE consortium (2024)

References

Top Articles
Easy Kumquat Marmalade Recipe with Ginger
Salted Caramel Brownies Recipe
7 Weird Jell-O Recipes From Your Childhood That Prepared You For the Jell-O Shots of Adulthood
Latest Posts
Nigel Slater’s recipes for plum and rosemary cake, and baked aubergines
23 Easy Recipes You Can Make Using Chipotles in Adobo
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Roderick King

Last Updated:

Views: 6297

Rating: 4 / 5 (51 voted)

Reviews: 82% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Roderick King

Birthday: 1997-10-09

Address: 3782 Madge Knoll, East Dudley, MA 63913

Phone: +2521695290067

Job: Customer Sales Coordinator

Hobby: Gunsmithing, Embroidery, Parkour, Kitesurfing, Rock climbing, Sand art, Beekeeping

Introduction: My name is Roderick King, I am a cute, splendid, excited, perfect, gentle, funny, vivacious person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.