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. 2023 Aug 23;23(1):510.
doi: 10.1186/s12877-023-04209-1.

Gender-specific effects of soybean consumption on cardiovascular events in elderly individuals from rural Northeast China - a prospective cohort study

Shasha Yu #  1 , Hongmei Yang #  1 , Bo Wang  1 , Xiaofan Guo  1 , GuangXiao Li  2 , Yingxian Sun  3
Affiliations

Gender-specific effects of soybean consumption on cardiovascular events in elderly individuals from rural Northeast China - a prospective cohort study

Shasha Yu et al. BMC Geriatr. .

Abstract

Background: The impact of consuming soybean and its products on cardiovascular events (CVEs), cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the prospective association of soybean consumption with CVEs, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality among the elderly population in rural China.

Methods: The Northeast China Rural Cardiovascular Health Study included 2477 elderly individuals (mean age 67 ± 6 years, 49.97% men) in the initial phase of the study from 2012 to 2013, with a follow-up period between 2015 and 2017. Soybean consumption was categorized as follows: low-frequency consumption: rare consumption; moderate-frequency consumption: two to three times/week; high-frequency consumption: ≥ four times/week. Cox proportional hazard analysis assessed the potential relationship of soybean consumption with CVEs, cardiovascular mortality, and all-cause mortality.

Results: The prevalence of soybean and its product consumption was as follows: 38.3% for low-frequency consumption (43.8% for women; 32.8% for men), 49.7% for moderate-frequency consumption (45.8% for women; 53.7% for men), and 11.9% for high-frequency consumption (10.4% for women; 13.5% for men). After adjusting for possible confounders, Cox proportional hazard analysis revealed that the frequency of soybean consumption was an effective predictor of CVEs [Hazard ratio (HR) high (95% CI): 0.555 (0.348, 0.883)], stroke [HR moderate (95% CI): 0.672 (0.494, 0.913); HR high (95% CI): 0.483 (0.276, 0.842)], and all-cause mortality [HR high (95% CI): 0.540 (0.310, 0.942)] in the overall older population. High-frequency consumption of soybean [HR (95% CI): 0.467 (0.225, 0.968)] and moderate-frequency consumption [HR (95% CI): 0.458 (0.270, 0.779)] were associated with stroke events in older men and women, respectively. In addition, high-frequency consumption of soybean [HR (95% CI): 0.437 (0.197, 0.968)] decreased the risk of CVEs in older women.

Conclusion: Soybean consumption is closely associated with CVEs and all-cause mortality in older individuals residing in rural areas, with a significant gender discrepancy in this relationship. These findings provide new insights into the impact of soybean consumption on cardiovascular well-being in the elderly rural population, thus enhancing our understanding of this field of interest.

Keywords: All-cause mortality; Cardiovascular events; Cardiovascular mortality; Coronary heart disease; Soybean; Soybean product; Stroke.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Cardiovascular events, cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in the three groups according to the frequency of soybean and soybean product consumption
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Crude did not adjust for any possible confounders. Model 1 adjusted for age, gender, race, educational status, sleep duration, annual income, current smoking, current drinking, physical activity, baseline systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, body mass index, low density lipoprotein cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, eGFR, total cholesterol, triglyceride, uric acid, and diet score relative hazard ratio and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of cardiovascular events, cardiovascular and all-cause mortality in participants divided into three groups according to the frequency of soybean consumption. Rare consumption of soybean and soybean product represent the reference group
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