Abstract
BackgroundEarly onset of menarche may negatively influence the future health of adolescent girls. Several factors affect the timing of menarche but it is not clear if soy foods consumption around pubertal years plays a role; thus, we examined its relation to age at onset of menarche (AOM) in a high soy-consuming population.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional study on 339 girls ages 12–18 years attending middle and high schools near two Seventh-day Adventist universities in California and Michigan using a web-based dietary questionnaire and physical development tool. Soy consumption (categorized as total soy, meat alternatives, tofu/traditional soy, and soy beverages) was estimated from the questionnaire, while AOM was self-reported. Data analyses included descriptive statistics, Cox proportional hazards ratios, Kaplan-Meier curves and Poisson regression with adjustment for relevant confounders.ResultsMean (SD) intakes were: total soy,12.9 (14.4) servings/week; meat alternatives, 7.0 (8.9) servings/week; tofu/traditional soy foods, 2.1 (3.8) servings/week; soy beverages, 3.8 (6.3) servings/week. Mean AOM was 12.5 (1.4) y for those who reached menarche. Consumption of total soy and the 3 types of soy foods was not significantly associated with AOM and with the odds for early- or late-AOM. Adjustment for demographic and dietary factors did not change the results.ConclusionSoy intake is not associated with AOM in a population of adolescent girls who have a wide range of, and relatively higher, soy intake than the general US population. Our finding suggests that the increasing popularity of soy in the US may not be associated with AOM.
Highlights
Onset of menarche may negatively influence the future health of adolescent girls
We considered the web-based food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to provide a valid estimate of soy foods consumption and in ranking individuals according to their intake
24% of the participants never or rarely eat meat, and meat intake significantly differed across soy intake groups (p < 0.0001)
Summary
Onset of menarche may negatively influence the future health of adolescent girls. Several investigations have focused on the role of genetics [8,9], early life exposure to environmental factors and xenobiotics [10,11,12], and body composition/weight status [13,14,15,16] on pubertal development Certain dietary factors, such as animal protein and meat [17,18] and milk and total dairy [19], have been linked to pubertal timing. Isoflavones bind to estrogen receptors and exert estrogen-like effects under certain conditions [20], isoflavone exposure may affect sexual maturation of children [21] It is, not surprising that some studies investigating pubertal development have focused on soy isoflavones
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