Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Clinical Trial
. 2012 Dec;21(4):398-404.
doi: 10.4104/pcrj.2012.00073.

Association of dietary soy genistein intake with lung function and asthma control: a post-hoc analysis of patients enrolled in a prospective multicentre clinical trial

Christian Bime  1 , Christine Y Wei, Janet Holbrook, Lewis J Smith, Robert A Wise
Affiliations
Clinical Trial

Association of dietary soy genistein intake with lung function and asthma control: a post-hoc analysis of patients enrolled in a prospective multicentre clinical trial

Christian Bime et al. Prim Care Respir J. 2012 Dec.

Abstract

Background: Broad dietary patterns have been linked to asthma but the relative contribution of specific nutrients is unclear. Soy genistein has important anti-inflammatory and other biological effects that might be beneficial in asthma. A positive association was previously reported between soy genistein intake and lung function but not with asthma exacerbations.

Aims: To conduct a post-hoc analysis of patients with inadequately controlled asthma enrolled in a prospective multicentre clinical trial to replicate this association.

Methods: A total of 300 study participants were included in the analysis. Dietary soy genistein intake was measured using the Block Soy Foods Screener. The level of soy genistein intake (little or no intake, moderate intake, or high intake) was compared with baseline lung function (pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV(1))) and asthma control (proportion of participants with an episode of poor asthma control (EPAC) and annualised rates of EPACs over a 6-month follow-up period.

Results: Participants with little or no genistein intake had a lower baseline FEV(1) than those with a moderate or high intake (2.26 L vs. 2.53 L and 2.47 L, respectively; p=0.01). EPACs were more common among those with no genistein intake than in those with a moderate or high intake (54% vs. 35% vs. 40%, respectively; p<0.001). These findings remained significant after adjustment for patient demographics and body mass index.

Conclusions: In patients with asthma, consumption of a diet with moderate to high amounts of soy genistein is associated with better lung function and better asthma control.

Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00069823.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest in relation to this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Enrolment and follow-up of patients
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

References

    1. Ellwood P, Asher MI, Bjorksten B, Burr M, Pearce N, Robertson CF. Diet and asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and atopic eczema symptom prevalence: an ecological analysis of the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) data. ISAAC phase one study group. Eur Respir J 2001;17(3):436–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1183/09031936.01.17304360 - PubMed
    1. Kim J, Ellwood P, Asher MI. Diet and asthma: looking back, moving forward. Respir Res 2009;10(1):49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1465-9921-10-49 - PMC - PubMed
    1. Asher MI, Montefort S, Bjorksten B, et al. Worldwide time trends in the prevalence of symptoms of asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, and eczema in childhood: ISAAC phases one and three repeat multicountry cross-sectional surveys. Lancet 2006;368(9537):733–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69283-0 - PubMed
    1. Baker JC, Ayres JG. Diet and asthma. Respir Med 2000;94(10):925–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1053/rmed.2000.0873 - PubMed
    1. Devereux G. The increase in the prevalence of asthma and allergy: food for thought. Nat Rev Immunol 2006;6(11):869–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nri1958 - PubMed

Publication types

Associated data