HEALTH BENEFITS OF MICRONUTRIENTS AND SOY

1
HEALTH BENEFITS OF MICRO-NUTRIENTS AND SOY
ISOFLAVONES ON NATURAL POST-MENOPAUSAL
SYMPTOMS OF WOMEN AGED 45-55 YEARS
Deepika Yadav (Lecturer) Department of Home
Science, Sophia Girls College, Ajmer, Reshma
Boolchandani (Assistant Professor), Department of
Home Science, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur
and Dr. Bharti Jain (Associate Professor),
Department of Food and Nutrition, M.D.S.
University, Ajmer.
2
INTRODUCTION
The human being is perhaps the only member of the
animal kingdom whose reproductive capacity fails
before the end of the natural life. Natural or
Physiological menopause is recognized to have
occurred after 12 consecutive months of
amenorrhea. It is caused by a gradual reduction
in the amount of estrogen produced in ovaries.
The ovaries become less functional during
menopause and produce lower amounts of estrogen
and progesterone. The Estrogen deficiency is a
cause of various menopausal symptoms. The goal in
treating menopause is to alleviate symptoms and
reduce the risk of heart diseases, breast cancer
and osteoporosis. Use of Hormone Replacement
Therapy (HRT), Phyto-estrogens, Micro-nutrients,
Herbology, Acupuncture, Homeopathy are some
treatments in view. Phyto-estrogens are weak,
non-steroidal versions of estrogens. They are
structurally similar to estrogens. Isoflavones
should be taken 1-2 mg/Kg body weight as once or
twice daily. Micronutrients are vitamins or
minerals found in diet essential for normal body
functions and repair.
3

• RATIONALE
• Life expectancy has increased dramatically over
  the past 150 years. As a result, majority of
  women will now survive to reach menopause and
  live about 40 i.e. one third of their lives
  after menstruation has ceased, and even more for
  those who undergo premature menopause.
• OBJECTIVES
• Looking into the upcoming role of phytoestrogens
  and micronutrients the study was planned with
  following objectives-
• To assess the age of menopause.
• To record the occurrence of post-menopausal
  symptoms.
• To study the effect of micronutrient and soy
  isoflavone supplementations on post menopausal
  symptoms of the subjects.

4

• METHODOLOGY
• STUDY DETAILS
• Locale of the study The study was carried out
  at a private clinic in Jaipur
• Sample Size 30 natural post menopausal women
  in the age group of 45-55 years.
• Sampling Technique Purposive sampling
  technique was used to collect the sample.
• Inclusion Criteria Women who fulfilled the
  following criteria were selected for the
  study.
• Post menopausal women who have attained natural
  menopause at least one year ago.
• 45-55 years of age.
• Willing to participate.
• Not suffering from diabetes mellitus,
  hypertension and renal diseases.
• Duration of intervention 14 weeks.
• Supplement given 2 Menopace tablets per day,
  i.e. 40 mg soy isoflavone extract and various
  micronutrients.

5

• STUDY DESIGN
• n30
• Soy and micronutrient supplementation in the form
  of 2 Menopace tablets per day for 14 weeks.
• Baseline
  Post-intervention (after 14 weeks)
• ?Assessment of ?Assessment of menopausal
  menopausal symptoms symptoms
•  
• Collection of data The data was collected using
  a questionnaire, which included
• General profile (Name, Age, Date of birth,
  Education and Income).
• Information about surgeries and undergone.
• Medications taken.

6
MENOPAUSAL INDEX The symptoms were recorded at
baseline and after 14 weeks using the Menopausal
Index given by Kupperman.1952. It represents the
sum of the numerical conversion factor of the
eleven most common menopausal complaints
(Vasomotor, paresthesia, insomnia, nervousness,
melancholia, vertigo, weakness, arthralgia
/myalgia, palpitation and formication. ) The
sum of these individual numbers serves as a guide
to menopausal complaints and is known as
Menopausal Index. RESULTS AND
DISCUSSIONS Results are an interpretation in
context to the objectives framed. Age of
menopause 90 women experienced menopause
between the age of 45-47 years. (Similar findings
were revealed in a study conducted on 350 natural
post- menopausal women at AIIMS, New Delhi. The
mean age of menopause was found to be 47.7 years
(Kriplani at al, 2005)
7
Table 1, represents the symptoms at baseline and
impact of the supplement on these Symptoms Table
1 Quantification of Menopausal Kupperman Index.
S Significant, NS Not Significant
8
There is a marked decline in the occurrence of
menopausal Symptoms after 14 weeks of
intervention. There was a significant decline in
mean of all Symptoms, except formication in which
results were not significant. Vertigo was not
experienced by any of the subjects. A positive
impact of the supplement is proved by the decline
in mean Menopausal Index sum from 38.5 to 13.7
Overall there was a 63 reduction in mean
number of symptoms by week 14. CONCLUSION Mi
cronutrients and Soy Isoflavones had a beneficial
effect on the menopausal Symptoms, and there was
a significant reduction in the mean of menopausal
Symptoms from baseline to post-intervention.
9
Thank You