Evidence on safety of infant soy formula
A new study provides reassuring evidence about the
safety of infant soy formula. Compared with cow milk formula, exposure
to soy formula in infancy does not appear to lead to different general
health or reproductive outcomes, the authors say.
Dr Brian Strom, University of Pennsylvania School
of Medicine, Philadelphia, and colleagues carried out a retrospective
cohort study of 811 adults aged 20 to 34 years who had participated in
controlled feeding studies as infants. During infancy, 248 were fed soy
formula and 563 were fed cow milk formula.
The researchers say that infants fed soy formula
receive relatively high levels of phytoestrogens, in the form of soy isoflavones,
during a stage of development when permanent effects are theoretically
possible. However, no significant differences were observed between those
fed soy formula and those fed cow milk formula for either men or women
with regard to adult height, usual weight, usual body mass index or any
of the indexes of pubertal maturation.
They did find that women who had been fed soy formula
reported slightly longer duration of menstrual bleeding and greater discomfort
with menstruation. However, the clinical significance of these two findings
is not known, they say.
The study is published in JAMA 2001; 286:807).
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