Soy Consumption with Risk of Coronary Heart Disease and Stroke: A Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies

The association of soy product consumption with the relative risk of cardiovascular disease remains controversial. This meta-analysis aimed at investigating whether an association exists between soy consumption and the risk of stroke and coronary heart disease (CHD) in observational studies.

A systematic search of the PubMed and EMBASE databases was performed for case-control and cohort studies that assessed soy consumption and the risk of stroke and CHD. Summary relative risks (SRRs) and 95% CIs were combined by using a random-effects model.

Of a total of 1,266 abstracts, 5 prospective cohort and 6 case-control studies met our inclusion criteria, and comprised 4,954 stroke and 7,616 CHD events. Based on the high vs. low analyses, combining cohort studies showed no association between soy intake and risk of stroke (SRR 0.92; 95% CI 0.70-1.10; Pheterogeneity = 0.236; I2 = 29.4%) or CHD (SRR 0.97; 95% CI 0.74-1.27; Pheterogeneity = 0.020; I2 = 62.7%), although a significantly inverse association between soy intake and the risk of stroke (SRR 0.54; 95% CI 0.34-0.87; Pheterogeneity = 0.001; I2 = 79.3%) and CHD (SRR 0.66; 95% CI 0.56-0.77; Pheterogeneity = 0.421; I2 = 0) was observed in case-control studies. No association between soy isoflavone intake and the risk of stroke and CHD was identified.

There was limited evidence to indicate that soy consumption was inversely associated with the risk of stroke and CHD, although further studies, with prospective designs that use validated questionnaires and control for important confounders, are warranted.