Menopause is the transitional event of female life creating a considerable degree of clinical and psychological as well as social problem and it is known to affect the risk markers of
cardiovascular diseases.
Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was though to be a cornerstone in the management of menopause, but evidences accumulated in the recent past have raised serious questions regarding its safety and usability. In this context,
phytoestrogens are getting increasingly more attention for therapeutic (as an alternate of HRT) and dietary interventions. Menopause is a special problem for women in developing countries and intake of
phytoestrogens can be highly useful also from the economic point of views. The nutraceuticals of specific
vitamins, minerals and especially
phytoestrogens supplementations are a vital component of the strategy to reduce health problem. The present study was aimed to assess the association of
phytoestrogens and risk markers of
cardiovascular diseases in postmenopausal women. A total of 111 postmenopausal subjects [age, (years, M±SD) 52±5.35] were studied. The dietary intake of
phytoestrogens by study subjects was calculated by a specific food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Serum fasting
homocysteine was measured by AxSYM system. Serum
glucose was estimated by
glucose-oxidase method. Serum total
cholesterol,
triglyceride and HDL-C were estimated by enzymatic-colorimetric method
LDL-C was estimated by the Friedewald's formula. The intake of total
phytoestrogens,
isoflavones and
lignans (mean±SD, mg/day) were 7.65±3.33, 0.32±0.16, 7.32±3.28 respectively in postmenopausal women. The intake of
diadzein,
genistein,
formononetin,
biochanin A (mean±SD, mg/day) were 0.085±0.035, 0.168±0.101, 0.074±0.052 and 0.001±0.0008 respectively. The intake of
matairesinol and secoisolaiciresinol (SILR) (mean±SD, mg/day) were 0.022±0.006 and 7.30±3.28 respectively. The total
phytoestrogens (r=-0.19, p=0.03) and SILR, one specific type of
lignans (r=-0.19, p=0.04) consumption in this study were inversely significantly associated with serum
glucose level. The dietary
formononetin, one specific type of
isoflavones was negatively significantly associated with
LDL-cholesterol (r=-0.18, p=0.04). There was no significant relationship found between
phytoestrogen intake and serum
homocysteine level (r=-0.11, p=0.23).
Phytoestrogens containing food intake should be encouraged for reducing risk markers of
cardiovascular disease in postmenopausal women.