Dietary Soy Supplement on Fibromyalgia Symptoms: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Early Phase Trial
2011

Soy Supplement for Fibromyalgia Symptoms

Sample size: 50 publication Evidence: low

Author Information

Author(s): Dietlind L. Wahner-Roedler, Jeffrey M. Thompson, Connie A. Luedtke, Susan M. King, Stephen S. Cha, Peter L. Elkin, Barbara K. Bruce, Cynthia O. Townsend, Jody R. Bergeson, Andrea L. Eickhoff, Laura L. Loehrer, Amit Sood, Brent A. Bauer

Primary Institution: Mayo Clinic

Hypothesis

Can dietary soy supplementation improve symptoms in patients with fibromyalgia?

Conclusion

The study found that soy shakes did not provide any significant benefit over placebo shakes for fibromyalgia symptoms.

Supporting Evidence

  • Total FIQ scores decreased by 14% in the soy group and by 18% in the placebo group.
  • CES-D scores improved by 16% in the soy group and by 15% in the placebo group.
  • The difference in change in scores between the groups was not significant.

Takeaway

This study tested if soy shakes could help people with fibromyalgia feel better, but it turned out they didn't work any better than regular shakes.

Methodology

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial with 50 patients assigned to either soy or placebo shakes for 6 weeks.

Potential Biases

Potential referral bias due to the patient population being from a specialized treatment program.

Limitations

The study had a high dropout rate and a small sample size, which may affect the reliability of the results.

Participant Demographics

Median age was 47.7 years, with 49 out of 50 participants being women.

Statistical Information

P-Value

P = .16

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1093/ecam/nen069

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