In a community-based study led by Allen?nurse researchers explored the beneficial effects of soy. The array of results garnered from the multi-year study focused on cholesterol reduction, metabolic syndrome, and recruitment for clinical trials.
Key findings from the study group of 216 healthy postmenopausal African American and white women with moderately elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels included:
? Those who received isolated soy protein containing isoflavones experienced a significant decrease in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and lipoprotein particles.
? Those with metabolic syndrome (MS)?a clustering of at least three CVD risk factors: high blood pressure, high triglycerides, low levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (good cholesterol), high glucose, or abdominal obesity (large waist measurement)?had lower levels of HDL cholesterol and higher levels of triglycerides without significant differences in total cholesterol.
? African American and White women in the study differed significantly in their response to various forms of mass media and personalized techniques employed to recruit participation in the clinical trial. The most effective mechanism for African American women was direct mail (52%) followed by radio (15%); newspapers were less effective. Conversely, white women responded best to newspaper ads (36%) followed by direct mail (32%); and radio was less effective.