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New Study: Soy Linked
To Lung Benefits
The
consumption of soy products could decrease the risk
of lung disease and
breathlessness, according to a new
respiratory health study from Japan.
Published in the Journal Respiratory Research, the new study
examined nearly 300 patients diagnosed with lung disease, and
measured their reported soy food intake.
"Soy
consumption was found to be positively correlated with lung
function
and inversely associated with the risk of chronic obstructive
pulmonary
disease (COPD). The epidemiological evidence also
indicated an inverse
association between total soy intake and
breathlessness," wrote the
researchers from Japan and Australia.
The study was conducted
on 278 Japanese patients aged 50-75,
who had been diagnosed with COPD
within the past four years.
Another 340 participants recruited from the
general Japanese
population were used as a control group. All
participants were
tested for respiratory function. Food consumption and
lifestyle
characteristics were determined based on structured
questionnaires.
The researchers identified the self-reporting of
dietary intake as
a limitation to their study, but said that they also
included individual
interviews with relatives in order to increase
response rate and
improve the accuracy of answers. They also said all
interviews were
conducted by the same investigator to eliminate
inter-interviewer bias.
Participants were asked specifically about
their soy food consumption
for the five years prior to the interview
date. For the purposes of the
study, soy foods includeded tofu, natto,
bean sprouts, and soy milk.
Other variables measured were age,
gender, body mass index,
education level, physical activity, smoking
status, and dietary intake
of fruit, vegetables, fish, red meat and
chicken.
Overall, the researchers found that those participants
diagnosed with
COPD had significantly lower soy intake than controls.
Researchers
then examined the relationship with lung function, and
found that this
was positively correlated with total soy consumption.
"A
significant reduction in COPD risk was evident for the highest
versus
lowest quartile of daily total intake of soybean products," wrote
the
researchers. The observed benefits, consistent with findings from
previous studies, could be a result of the anti-inflammatory benefits
of
soyfoods, they said, but added that more research is needed to
understand the underlying biological mechanism.
"The present
case-control study has suggested an inverse association
between soy
products and COPD risk for Japanese adults," concluded
the researchers.
"More research and/or replications are required to
ascertain whether
the observed findings can be generalized to other
populations, before
incorporating these foods into dietary guidelines so
as to encourage
consumption." "Besides experimental studies, long-term
prospective
cohort studies collecting detailed dietary exposure information
are
recommended to provide epidemiological evidence on both morbidity
and
mortality due to COPD."
Source: Soy consumption and risk of COPD and respiratory symptoms:
a case-control study in Japan Respiratory Research 2009.
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