Consumption of a soy drink has no effect on cognitive function but may alleviate vasomotor symptoms in post-menopausal women; a randomised trial

Orlaith N. Furlong,Mary M. Slevin,Pamela J. Magee,Ellen E. Simpson,Emeir M. McSorley,Jacqueline M. McCormack,Stephanie J. Hodge,Heather J. Parr

doi:10.1007/s00394-019-01942-5

Orlaith N. Furlong, Mary M. Slevin + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-019-01942-5

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Abstract

PurposeCognitive decline is commonly reported during the menopausal transition, with memory and attention being particularly affected. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a commercially available soy drink on cognitive function and menopausal symptoms in post-menopausal women.Methods101 post-menopausal women, aged 44–63 years, were randomly assigned to consume a volume of soy drink providing a low (10 mg/day; control group), medium (35 mg/day), or high (60 mg/day) dose of isoflavones for 12 weeks. Cognitive function (spatial working memory, spatial span, pattern recognition memory, 5-choice reaction time, and match to sample visual search) was assessed using CANTAB pre- and post-the 12 week intervention. Menopausal symptoms were assessed using Greene’s Climacteric Scale.ResultsNo significant differences were observed between the groups for any of the cognitive function outcomes measured. Soy drink consumption had no effect on menopausal symptoms overall; however, when women were stratified according to the severity of vasomotor symptoms (VMS) at baseline, women with more severe symptoms at baseline in the medium group had a significant reduction (P = 0.001) in VMS post-intervention (mean change from baseline score: − 2.15 ± 1.73) in comparison to those with less severe VMS (mean change from baseline score: 0.06 ± 1.21).ConclusionsSoy drink consumption had no effect on cognitive function in post-menopausal women. Consumption of ~ 350 ml/day (35 mg IFs) for 12 weeks significantly reduced VMS in those with more severe symptoms at baseline. This finding is clinically relevant as soy drinks may provide an alternative, natural, treatment for alleviating VMS, highly prevalent among western women.

Highlights

Cognitive decline is commonly reported by peri- and postmenopausal women and deteriorations in memory; attention and processing speed have been observed during the menopausal transition [1,2,3,4]
We did not observe a significant effect for menopausal symptoms; albeit, sub-analysis identified a potential beneficial effect of soy IFs in women with more severe vasomotor menopausal symptoms (VMS) at baseline
Our findings on cognitive function are in agreement with the previous studies that observed no beneficial effects of isoflavone supplementation on cognition in post-menopausal women [30, 32, 33]

Summary

Introduction

Cognitive decline is commonly reported by peri- and postmenopausal women and deteriorations in memory; attention and processing speed have been observed during the menopausal transition [1,2,3,4]. These effects have been attributed to a reduction in circulating estrogen concentrations [5]; albeit, this has been contested [6]. Hormone therapy (HT) remains the most effective treatment for vasomotor menopausal symptoms (VMS) [7] and early observational studies supported a beneficial effect of HT on cognitive function [8]. Natural approaches for the treatment and prevention of menopausal symptoms are being sought

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