Dietary soy and isoflavone intake and mortality in Korean adults: a prospective cohort study

BackgroundThe association between dietary soy and isoflavone intake and mortality remains inconclusive. This study aimed to examine the relationships of dietary intakes of isoflavones, soy protein, and soy foods with all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in Korean adults.Meth...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sihan Song, Shinyoung Jun, Hyojee Joung, Jung Eun Lee
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-07-01
Series:Frontiers in Nutrition
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1613685/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850100269539393536
author Sihan Song
Sihan Song
Shinyoung Jun
Hyojee Joung
Jung Eun Lee
Jung Eun Lee
author_facet Sihan Song
Sihan Song
Shinyoung Jun
Hyojee Joung
Jung Eun Lee
Jung Eun Lee
author_sort Sihan Song
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundThe association between dietary soy and isoflavone intake and mortality remains inconclusive. This study aimed to examine the relationships of dietary intakes of isoflavones, soy protein, and soy foods with all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in Korean adults.MethodsThis prospective cohort study included 118,450 Korean adults aged 40–79 years from the Health Examinees Study (2004–2013). Dietary intakes of isoflavones, soy protein, and soy foods were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for mortality risk according to quartiles of dietary soy and isoflavone intake.ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 10.1 years (interquartile range: 8.7–11.4 years), 2,614 deaths were documented, including 1,290 from cancer and 389 from CVD. Multivariable analyses showed no significant associations between dietary isoflavone intake and the risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality. The HRs (95% CIs) comparing the highest vs. the lowest quartile of isoflavone intake were 1.04 (0.93–1.15) for all-cause mortality, 0.98 (0.84–1.14) for cancer mortality, and 1.04 (0.79–1.38) for CVD mortality. Similarly, no significant associations were observed for soy protein or soy food intake in relation to all-cause, cancer, and CVD mortality.ConclusionOur study found no significant associations of dietary intakes of isoflavones, soy protein, and soy foods with the risks of all-cause, cancer, and CVD mortality.
format Article
id doaj-art-57d2759d2c414af4b70ce40140bdb47a
institution DOAJ
issn 2296-861X
language English
publishDate 2025-07-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Nutrition
spelling doaj-art-57d2759d2c414af4b70ce40140bdb47a2025-08-20T02:40:20ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Nutrition2296-861X2025-07-011210.3389/fnut.2025.16136851613685Dietary soy and isoflavone intake and mortality in Korean adults: a prospective cohort studySihan Song0Sihan Song1Shinyoung Jun2Hyojee Joung3Jung Eun Lee4Jung Eun Lee5Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of KoreaDivision of Population Health Research, Department of Precision Medicine, National Institute of Health, Cheongju, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Food Science and Nutrition, Soonchunhyang University, Asan-si, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Public Health, Graduate School of Public Health, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Food and Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of KoreaResearch Institute of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of KoreaBackgroundThe association between dietary soy and isoflavone intake and mortality remains inconclusive. This study aimed to examine the relationships of dietary intakes of isoflavones, soy protein, and soy foods with all-cause, cancer, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality in Korean adults.MethodsThis prospective cohort study included 118,450 Korean adults aged 40–79 years from the Health Examinees Study (2004–2013). Dietary intakes of isoflavones, soy protein, and soy foods were assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for mortality risk according to quartiles of dietary soy and isoflavone intake.ResultsDuring a median follow-up of 10.1 years (interquartile range: 8.7–11.4 years), 2,614 deaths were documented, including 1,290 from cancer and 389 from CVD. Multivariable analyses showed no significant associations between dietary isoflavone intake and the risk of all-cause and cause-specific mortality. The HRs (95% CIs) comparing the highest vs. the lowest quartile of isoflavone intake were 1.04 (0.93–1.15) for all-cause mortality, 0.98 (0.84–1.14) for cancer mortality, and 1.04 (0.79–1.38) for CVD mortality. Similarly, no significant associations were observed for soy protein or soy food intake in relation to all-cause, cancer, and CVD mortality.ConclusionOur study found no significant associations of dietary intakes of isoflavones, soy protein, and soy foods with the risks of all-cause, cancer, and CVD mortality.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1613685/fullisoflavonessoy foodsmortalitycancercardiovascular disease
spellingShingle Sihan Song
Sihan Song
Shinyoung Jun
Hyojee Joung
Jung Eun Lee
Jung Eun Lee
Dietary soy and isoflavone intake and mortality in Korean adults: a prospective cohort study
Frontiers in Nutrition
isoflavones
soy foods
mortality
cancer
cardiovascular disease
title Dietary soy and isoflavone intake and mortality in Korean adults: a prospective cohort study
title_full Dietary soy and isoflavone intake and mortality in Korean adults: a prospective cohort study
title_fullStr Dietary soy and isoflavone intake and mortality in Korean adults: a prospective cohort study
title_full_unstemmed Dietary soy and isoflavone intake and mortality in Korean adults: a prospective cohort study
title_short Dietary soy and isoflavone intake and mortality in Korean adults: a prospective cohort study
title_sort dietary soy and isoflavone intake and mortality in korean adults a prospective cohort study
topic isoflavones
soy foods
mortality
cancer
cardiovascular disease
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnut.2025.1613685/full
work_keys_str_mv AT sihansong dietarysoyandisoflavoneintakeandmortalityinkoreanadultsaprospectivecohortstudy
AT sihansong dietarysoyandisoflavoneintakeandmortalityinkoreanadultsaprospectivecohortstudy
AT shinyoungjun dietarysoyandisoflavoneintakeandmortalityinkoreanadultsaprospectivecohortstudy
AT hyojeejoung dietarysoyandisoflavoneintakeandmortalityinkoreanadultsaprospectivecohortstudy
AT jungeunlee dietarysoyandisoflavoneintakeandmortalityinkoreanadultsaprospectivecohortstudy
AT jungeunlee dietarysoyandisoflavoneintakeandmortalityinkoreanadultsaprospectivecohortstudy