lignans and Urinary-Incontinence

To examine the association between urinary phytoestrogens and self-reported urinary incontinence in postmenopausal women in the United States using a large, cross-sectional, population-based cohort survey.. Data were analyzed for 1789 postmenopausal women aged 50 years or older who participated in one of the 2001-2010 cycles of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and underwent measurement of 4 isoflavone (soy derived) and 2 lignan (flax derived) phytoestrogens in their urine. Incontinence was defined as self-reported stress, urge, other, or mixed incontinence. Urine phytoestrogen concentrations were examined in weighted, multivariate logistic regression models for association with each of the lower urinary tract symptoms. All models were adjusted for age, body mass index, diabetes, race, smoking, and parity.. Increasing urine concentrations of the lignan phytoestrogen enterodiol was associated with decreased likelihood of urge (odds ratio [OR], 0.92; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.85-0.99), mixed (OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82-0.98), and other (OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.81-0.99) incontinence, whereas increasing urine concentrations of the lignan phytoestrogen enterolactone was associated with decreased likelihood of urge (OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.86-0.99) and mixed (OR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.84-0.99) incontinence. No association was observed between any isoflavone phytoestrogens and types of incontinence.. This study demonstrates that lignan phytoestrogens may have a protective effect against incontinence in postmenopausal women. Prospective clinical and laboratory studies are warranted to investigate the mechanism of this relationship.

Topics: Aged; Body Mass Index; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Lignans; Massachusetts; Middle Aged; Morbidity; Postmenopause; Prospective Studies; Self Report; Urinary Incontinence

Because exogenous estrogen treatment has been associated with a higher risk of urinary incontinence, our objective was to evaluate the longitudinal relationships of dietary phytoestrogen intakes (isoflavones, coumestans, and lignans) and the development of incontinence in midlife women transitioning through menopause.. The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) Phytoestrogen Study was developed within SWAN, a community-based, multisite, multiracial/ethnic, prospective cohort study. SWAN interviewers administered a food consumption assessment at baseline and on follow-up visits 5 and 9. The SWAN Phytoestrogen Study created a phytonutrient database that allowed estimation of the usual daily intakes of four isoflavones, four lignans, and coumestrol. On an annual self-administered questionnaire, participants reported on the frequency and type of incontinence. We used discrete proportional hazards models to evaluate whether the estimated daily intake of each phytoestrogen class on the visit previous to the first report of incontinence was associated with the development of monthly or more incontinence versus remaining continent.. We found no association or patterns of association between developing any, stress, or urge incontinence and the reported daily dietary intake of isoflavones, coumestrol, and lignans on the visit previous to the onset of incontinence.. The results of this longitudinal study provide important information to better understand estrogenlike substances in the continence mechanism of midlife women. Our study shows that neither high nor low dietary intakes of isoflavones, coumestrol, and lignans prevent stress or urge incontinence. Future studies should evaluate whether serum levels of phytoestrogens or their metabolites impact incontinence symptoms.

Topics: Adult; Cohort Studies; Coumestrol; Diet; Ethnicity; Female; Humans; Isoflavones; Lignans; Longitudinal Studies; Menopause; Middle Aged; Phytoestrogens; Prospective Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Urinary Incontinence; Women's Health