Legumes and soy products consumption and functional disability in older women

This study was to examine the association between frequency of legumes and soy products consumption and functional disability in older Korean women.

Cross-sectional study. Data came from the 2005 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). Subjects were 562 women aged 65 years and older living in the community.

Frequency of legume consumption was obtained by using food frequency questionnaire and functional disability was assessed using the instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) and ADL scales. Poisson regression analyses were conducted to examine the association of frequency of legume and soy consumption with functional disability, controlling for covariates.

Dietary intake of legumes and soy products was associated with a significantly reduced risk of IADL disability after controlling for potential risk factors (p = 0.002 for trend). Compared with women who consumed legumes and soy products < 1 time per week, those who consumed ≥ 3 times per day had a reduced risk of IADL disability (prevalence ratio = 0.70; 95% confidence interval: 0.51-0.96). In contrast, legumes and soy products consumption was not significantly associated with ADL disability.

Frequent legumes and soy products consumption was inversely associated with IADL disability in older women. Further studies are needed to clarify the protective effect of legume consumption on functional disability in older people.