Abstract
Studies on the associations between soy food consumption and arterial stiffness are rare. The aim of the present study was to evaluate their associations in Japanese men. A total of 652 eligible men, aged 35–69 years, who underwent the measurement of brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) as an index of arterial stiffness were evaluated in this cross-sectional study. Information on their lifestyle characteristics, including dietary behavior, was obtained from a structured self-administered questionnaire. The frequency of total soy products as well as fermented and non-fermented soy products intakes was calculated, and the amounts of soy protein and soy isoflavone intakes were also estimated; these were then divided into tertiles and their associations with baPWV values were evaluated using general linear models. Higher frequency of fermented soy products intake was associated with decreased baPWV after adjusting for the multivariable covariates (P value for trend was 0.002, in Model 3). This association did not alter after further adjustment with a biomarker of systemic inflammation (serum high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP)) (P value for trend was 0.001, in Model 4). Total soy isoflavone consumption was also inversely associated with baPWV even after adjusting for multivariable covariates including serum hs-CRP (P value for trend was 0.043, in Model 4); however total soy protein consumption was not. These results demonstrated that greater consumption of soy food, especially fermented soy products and soy isoflavone was associated with reduced arterial stiffness, independent of systemic inflammation, in Japanese men.
Highlights
Since cardiovascular diseases are major causes of death in developed countries, early detection of cardiovascular damage is desired earnestly to prevent mortality and morbidity from cardiovascular diseases
The present study evaluated the possible relationships between frequency of intake of the total soy products, especially fermented soy products, and arterial stiffness using brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity (baPWV) as the parameter in Japanese men
The current study revealed that greater consumption of total soy products, especially fermented soy products and soy isoflavone, was dose-dependently associated with decreased arterial stiffness, independent of traditional atherosclerotic risk factors or systemic inflammation, in Japanese men
Summary
Since cardiovascular diseases are major causes of death in developed countries, early detection of cardiovascular damage is desired earnestly to prevent mortality and morbidity from cardiovascular diseases. Soybeans have been a major component of the traditional Asian (including Japanese) diets, and are usually consumed as processed foods (tofu, natto, miso, shoyu, etc.) Fermented soy products such as miso and natto are often consumed in Japan as Japanese special food[3]. Due to these beneficial nature and isoflavone content, soybean and soy products are considered to have potential cardiovascular benefits. Reports on the relationships between the consumption of soy food products, especially the consumption of fermented soy products and soy isoflavone, and arterial stiffness which can detect early cardiovascular damage are few. The present study evaluated the possible relationships between frequency of intake of the total soy products, especially fermented soy products, and arterial stiffness using baPWV as the parameter in Japanese men. We evaluated the relationships between the consumption of soy protein and soy isoflavone and arterial stiffness
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