Associations between Soy Intake and Disease Severity in Cirrhotic Patients: Results from a Cross-Sectional Study

Background and Objectives: Soybean is one of the sources of plant-based proteins and contains various nutrients, including branched chain amino acids, bioactive peptides, isoflavones, soluble fibers and essential omega-3 fatty acids. Furthermore, they include beneficial therapeutic effects on chronic diseases. Target of the current study was investigation of possible associations between soy intake and disease severity in cirrhotic patients.  Materials & Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 68 out-patients with cirrhosis were participated. Child-Pugh and MELD scores were used to assess stages of the disease. Diet was assessed using valid food frequency questionnaires with 168 items. Associations between soy and soy-based products, anthropometric measurements and disease severity were investigated. Odds ratio and 95% confidence interval were used with logistic regression for Child-Pugh index (qualitative disease severity index) and ordinal regression for MELD index (quantitative disease severity index). Results: No significant differences were seen for the highlighted variables between the two groups at the baseline. Significant inverse associations were seen between severity of the disease (Child-Pugh and MELD) and soybean and its product consumption (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Although results of the current study revealed significant inverse associations between soy consumption and severity of hepatic cirrhosis, further studies and clinical trials are needed to verify results of this study.