Glabska D, et al. – The physicians performed this study to examine the association between isoflavone intake and ulcerative colitis motility symptoms in individuals in remission. For individuals with ulcerative colitis, the moderate dietary isoflavone intake could be beneficial in remission. However, further prospective studies were needed before including it into recommendations.

Methods

• The physicians conducted this cross-sectional study in a group of ulcerative colitis remission individuals, in sub-groups characterised by various intestinal motility and functioning characteristics (abdominal pain, flatulence, constipations, tenesmus).
• They recruited 56 individuals with ulcerative colitis in remission (19 males and 37 females) for the study.
• For this study, assessment of diet was based on self-reported data from each patient’s dietary records taken over a period of three typical, random days (2 weekdays and 1 d of the weekend).
• They evaluated the daily isoflavone intake (daidzein, genistein, glycitein and total isoflavones) and daily isoflavone intake per 1000 kcal of diet.

Results

• The physicians observed no association between isoflavone intake levels and number of bowel movements per day both in the case of intake and intake per 1000 kcal of diet.
• The higher intakes of daidzein (P = 0.0075), daidzein per 1000 kcal of diet (P = 0.0358) and total isoflavone (P = 0.0358) were stated in the group of individuals declaring lack of abdominal pain, than in the group of individuals declaring abdominal pain
• The lower intakes of glycitein (P = 0.0213) and glycitein per 1000 kcal of diet (P = 0.0213) were stated in the group of individuals declaring lack of constipations, than in the group of individuals declaring presence of constipations.
• They observed no differences in isoflavone intake between groups of ulcerative colitis individuals declaring a lack of flatulence and declaring the presence of flatulence, as well as between groups declaring a lack of tenesmus and declaring the presence of tenesmus.