TUESDAY, Aug. 9 (HealthDay News) -- Soy isoflavone tablets, administered once daily, do not prevent bone loss or menopausal symptoms in women during the first five years of menopause, according to a study published in the Aug. 8/22 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Silvina Levis, M.D., from the Miami Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, and colleagues examined the efficiency of soy isoflavone tablets in preventing bone loss and menopausal symptoms. Between 2004 and 2009, women aged 45 to 60 years who had been menopausal for five years and had a bone mineral density T score of −2.0 or higher in the lumbar spine or total hip were randomized to receive daily soy isoflavone tablets, 200 mg (122), or placebo (126). Changes in bone mineral density in the lumbar spine, total hip, and femoral neck at the two-year follow-up, and changes in menopausal symptoms, vaginal cytologic characteristics, N-telopeptide of type I bone collagen, lipids, and thyroid function were the outcome measures.
The investigators found no significant differences between the soy group and the placebo group after two years with regard to changes in bone mineral density in the spine (−2.0 and −2.3 percent, respectively), the total hip (−1.2 and −1.4 percent, respectively), or the femoral neck (−2.2 and −2.1 percent, respectively). Compared with the control group, a significantly larger number of participants experienced hot flashes and constipation in the soy group. The other outcomes did not vary significantly between the groups.
"In this population, the daily administration of tablets containing 200 mg of soy isoflavones for two years did not prevent bone loss or menopausal symptoms," the authors write.
Abstract
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