The efficacy of soy isoflavones combined with soy protein on serum concentration of interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha among post-menopausal women? A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

The post-menopausal stage in women's life is associated with the enhancement of inflammation that may be reduced using soy isoflavones or soy protein. The present study aimed to summarize the effect of soy isoflavones plus soy protein on circulating interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in post-menopausal women. The English-language articles were identified from the databases such as Cochrane Library, clinicaltrials.gov, Web of Science, PubMed, and Scopus until December 2020. The mean change from baseline and its standard deviation (SD) for intervention and comparison groups were used to calculate the effect size. The statistical heterogeneity of the intervention effects was computing by Cochran's Q test and I-2 statistic. Nine and seven studies were selected for systematic review and meta-analysis, respectively. The results of our meta-analysis indicated a non-significant effect on the serum concentrations of IL-6 and TNF-alpha (weighted mean differences [WMD] = 0.07 pg/mL; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.03, 0.17 pg/mL; P = 0.190; WMD =0.05 pg/mL; 95% CI = -0.01, 0.12 pg/mL; P = 0.092; respectively). In subgroup analysis, soy isoflavones plus soy protein could increase the serum concentration of IL-6 in studies with soy isoflavones dose 27, and in studies that were conducted on at-risk or sick participants. In conclusion, our meta-analysis did not confirm any significant effect on serum concentration of IL-6 and TNF-alpha among post-menopausal women.