The relationship between phytoestrogens and speed of processing

This study examined the cross-sectional association between phytoestrogens and speed of processing. We hypothesized that higher levels of phytoestrogens would be related to better cognitive performance among older women. Methods: Participants were from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and consisted of 200 older women (M = 74.4 y). Stepwise regressions examined indicators of speed of processing, measured by the Digit Symbol Substitution Test. Isoflavones, lignans, and individual phytoestrogens were added to the regression after including covariates of age, education, race, smoking, and creatinine. Isoflavones were further broken into quartiles among the sample to further evaluate the nature of the curvilinear association. Results: Results showed a relationship between cognition and lignans, explaining 3.8% of the variance after including the covariates, indicating fewer lignans were associated with better speed of processing (P 
Source: Menopause - Category: OBGYN Tags: Original Articles Source Type: research