Inverse association between isoflavones and prediabetes risk: evidence from NHANES 2007-2010 and 2017-2018

Yanjun Zhou; Shaolei Qin; Yan Zhu; Peng Xu; Ke Gu

doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.1288416

Inverse association between isoflavones and prediabetes risk: evidence from NHANES 2007-2010 and 2017-2018

Front Nutr. 2023 Dec 5:10:1288416. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1288416. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Yanjun Zhou¹, Shaolei Qin², Yan Zhu¹, Peng Xu³, Ke Gu¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Radiotherapy and Oncology, The Affiliated Hospital of Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
² Wuxi Medical School, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
³ Population Health Sciences, German Centre for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Bonn, Germany.

Abstract

Introduction: Prediabetes is a metabolic condition characterized by blood glucose levels that are higher than normal but do not meet the threshold for a diabetes diagnosis. Individuals with prediabetes are at an increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes and associated complications. However, limited epidemiological studies have investigated the association between flavonoids from plant-based diets and the risk of prediabetes, and the existing evidence from these studies is inconsistent.

Methods: Therefore, we utilized data from 19,021 participants (mean age: 32.03 years) in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) conducted during 2007-2010 and 2017-2018 to investigate the potential association between dietary flavonoid intake and prediabetes risk by weighted logistic regression analysis. Furthermore, the data from 3,706 participants (mean age: 35.98 years) from NHANES 2007-2010 were used to assess the correlation between concentrations of isoflavones and their metabolites in urine and prediabetes risk by weighted logistic regression analysis.

Results: Our findings revealed an inverse association between the intake of glycitein (OR: 0.88; 95% CI: 0.82-0.96; p = 0.003), genistein (OR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.97-0.99; p = 0.004), daidzein (OR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.96-0.99; p = 0.009), and total isoflavones (OR: 0.99; 95% CI: 0.98-1.00; p = 0.005) with the risk of prediabetes. Moreover, we observed an inverse association between the concentration of daidzein in urine (OR: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.73-0.96; p = 0.012) and the concentration of genistein in urine (OR:0.83; 95% CI: 0.75-0.93; p = 0.003) with the risk of prediabetes using weighted logistic regression.

Conclusion: In conclusion, our findings suggest a potential protective effect of isoflavones against the development of prediabetes.

Keywords: daidzein; genistein; glycitein; isoflavones; prediabetes.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Wuxi Translational Medicine Research Institute (Project number LCYJ202312). KG was supported by the Wuxi Taihu Lake Talent Plan, Supports for Leading Talents in the Medical and Health Profession, Project Plan of Wuxi Institute of Translational Medicine (LCYJ202210), Scientific Research Project of Wuxi Commission of Health (M202041), the Maternal and Child Health Research Project of Jiangsu Commission of Health (F202009), and the Scientific Research Project of Jiangsu Maternal and Child Health Association (FYX202016). PX was supported by the scholarship from the China Scholarship Council.