Smartest Doc
A Pilot Study on the Effects of S-Equol Compared to Soy Isoflavones on Menopausal Hot Flash Frequency and Other Menopausal Symptoms
Journal of Women's Health, 05/16/2012
Clinical Article
Jenks BH et al. – S–equol, 10 mg/day, appears to be as effective as soy isoflavones at reducing hot flash frequency and more effective for relieving muscle and joint pain in postmenopausal women. S–equol, ≤20 mg/day, alleviates hot flashes to a greater extent than soy isoflavones in those women who experience >8 hot flashes/day.
Methods- An 8–week randomized, double–blind, active comparator trial with SE5–OH was conducted in postmenopausal women (aged 45–65 years), who experienced ≥5 hot flashes/day.
- Participants (n=102) were assigned to one of four treatment groups: 10 (n=24), 20 (n=27), or 40 (n=25) mg S–equol/day or soy isoflavones (n=26).
- Participants recorded their hot flash frequency and rated their menopause symptom severity.
- Reductions in hot flash frequency at week 8 were similar for all treatment groups.
- However, based on analyses of the cumulative effect for the 8–week period, 40 mg/day S–equol had a greater reduction of hot flash frequency compared to isoflavones (p=0.021).
- A subgroup analysis further indicated that for subjects with >8 hot flashes/day at baseline, 20 and 40 mg/day S–equol were superior to isoflavones in reducing hot flash frequency (p=0.045 and p=0.001, respectively).
- In addition, 10 and 20 mg/day S–equol improved muscle and joint pain score compared with isoflavones (p=0.003 and p=0.005, respectively).
