Study briefs, 10/4: Soy-based foods appear to help older women keep bones intact

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By The Washington Post

Worries about health risks associated with hormone therapy have prompted many women to reject it as an option after menopause. Might eating soy-based foods offer an alternative for preventing the broken bones that often follow post-menopausal bone loss?

THIS STUDY analyzed the diets of 24,403 post-menopausal women, comparing the amount of soy they consumed with the number of broken bones they sustained. In about 4½ years, 1,770 broken bones were reported. Women who ate the most soy foods (13 grams or more of soy protein daily) were 37 percent less likely to break a bone than were those who consumed the least (less than five grams of soy protein a day). Women registered the greatest benefit during the first 10 years after menopause, when consumers of the most soy were 48 percent less likely to break a bone than were those who took in the least.

WHO MAY BE AFFECTED BY THESE FINDINGS? Post-menopausal women, for whom accelerated loss of bone density can lead to osteoporosis and fractures.

CAVEATS The authors suggested that the findings indicate that soy consumption may be more beneficial in preventing bone loss than in reversing it. Data on fractures were based on the participants’ reports and were not confirmed through medical records; some fractures may have resulted from high-impact trauma rather than osteoporosis. All participants were Chinese; whether the results apply to other women remains unclear.

FIND THIS STUDY Sept. 12 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine; abstract available online at www.archinternmed.com.

LEARN MORE ABOUT osteoporosis and bone fractures at www.cdc.gov (search for “bone health”) and at www.osteo.org.

Digital mammography technology can offer more reliable results

Deaths from breast cancer have been declining, in part because more women are having regular mammograms, allowing early detection of any cancer. But mammography, which records and displays images of breast tissue on film, is not perfect. Are newer digital machines — which take an electronic image and store it in a computer, where it can be enhanced and manipulated for clearer interpretation — more accurate in finding cancer?

THIS STUDY arranged for 42,760 women to have both a traditional and a digital mammogram; 355 of them were diagnosed with breast cancer within about 15 months. Detection rates overall were comparable for the two technologies. However, digital mammography more accurately identified cancer in three groups of women: those whose breast tissue was denser than normal (14 percent more often), women younger than 50 (27 percent more) and those who had not experienced menopause (21 percent more). Cancers detected by digital mammography included many invasive and high-grade tumors missed by the traditional machines.

WHO MAY BE AFFECTED BY THESE FINDINGS? Women age 40 and older, who are recommended to have a mammogram every one to two years.

CAVEATS In the study, neither digital nor film mammography detected all cancers. Digital mammograms generally cost more than traditional ones.

FIND THIS STUDY Sept. 16 online edition of the New England Journal of Medicine; article available online at www.nejm.org.

LEARN MORE ABOUT mammography at www.radiologyinfo.org and http://cis.nci.nih.gov/fact.

Acupressure seems to help people stay awake in class

Those can’t-keep-your-eyes-open moments, while in class or at work, can be a real problem. To decrease drowsiness in such situations, might people find success with acupressure — manual application of pressure at points believed to enhance alertness, sometimes described as acupuncture without the needles?

THIS STUDY involved 30 adults who were enrolled in an executive education program that included all-day lecture classes for three days. They were instructed to give themselves 15 minutes of acupressure at stimulation points or at relaxation points on different days. The technique involved light tapping or massaging with the fingers at points on the head, hands, legs and feet. Using a standardized sleepiness scale, the participants reported being more alert and less tired on days they put pressure on the stimulation points than on the other days.

WHO MAY BE AFFECTED BY THESE FINDINGS? Anyone who occasionally gets sleepy in a classroom or work setting.

CAVEATS The results were based on the participants’ subjective determinations of their level of fatigue. Most participants correctly guessed which type of pressure they were administering, which may have influenced their assessments. Use of other pressure points or acupressure given for a different amount of time may yield different results. The study did not determine whether performance was affected.

FIND THIS STUDY August/September issue of the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine; abstract available online at www.liebertonline.com/loi/acm.

LEARN MORE ABOUT acupressure at www.wholehealthmd.com/refshelf (click “Therapies”) and www.intelihealth.com (click “Complementary & Alternative Medicine,” then “Index of Alternative Therapies”).