Soy and Vascular Effects

Posted by Chantel M. Contributed by US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health

In the study of "Vascular Effects of Phytoestrogens and Alternative Menopausal Hormone Therapy in Cardiovascular Disease" by Gencel VB, Benjamin MM, Bahou SN, Khalil RA., posted in US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, researchers found that the WHO-CARDIAC study supported that consumption of high soybean diet is associated with lower mortalities from coronary artery disease. However, as with estrogen, there has been some discrepancy between the experimental studies demonstrating the vascular benefits of phytoestrogens and the data from clinical trials. This is likely because the phytoestrogens clinical trials have been limited in many aspects including the number of participants enrolled, the clinical end points investigated, and the lack of long-term follow-up. Further investigation of the cellular mechanisms underlying the vascular effects of phytoestrogens and careful evaluation of the epidemiological evidence and clinical trials of their potential vascular benefits would put forward the use of phytoestrogens as an alternative MHT for the relief of menopausal symptoms and amelioration of postmenopausal CVD.