Legume and soy food intake and the incidence of type 2 diabetes in the Shanghai Women’s Health Study

• Published in: The American journal of clinical nutrition 2008-01, Vol.87 (1), p.162-167
• Main Authors: Villegas, Raquel, Gao, Yu-Tang, Yang, Gong, Li, Hong-Lan, Elasy, Tom A, Zheng, Wei, Shu, Xiao Ou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Biological and medical sciences; China - epidemiology; Chinese women; Cohort Studies; Confidence Intervals; Correlation analysis; Diabetes; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - epidemiology; Diet; disease incidence; Fabaceae; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Follow-Up Studies; food frequency questionnaires; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Health Surveys; Humans; Incidence; legume intake; Legumes; Middle Aged; middle-aged women; Multivariate Analysis; noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus; nutrient intake; Nutrition Assessment; Odds Ratio; Prospective Studies; protective effect; protective factors; Proteins; Risk Factors; Shanghai Women's Health Study; Soy Foods; soy intake; Soy products; soybean products; Surveys and Questionnaires; Type 2 diabetes; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; Women; Women's Health
• ISSN: 0002-9165; 1938-3207
• DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/87.1.162

It has been postulated that a diet high in legumes may be beneficial for the prevention of type 2 diabetes mellitus (type 2 DM). However, data linking type 2 DM risk and legume intake are limited. The objective of the study was to examine the association between legume and soy food consumption and self-reported type 2 DM. The study was conducted in a population-based prospective cohort of middle-aged Chinese women. We followed 64 227 women with no history of type 2 DM, cancer, or cardiovascular disease at study recruitment for an average of 4.6 y. Participants completed in-person interviews that collected information on diabetes risk factors, including dietary intake and physical activity in adulthood. Anthropometric measurements were taken. Dietary intake was assessed with a validated food-frequency questionnaire at the baseline survey and at the first follow-up survey administered 2–3 y after study recruitment. We observed an inverse association between quintiles of total legume intake and 3 mutually exclusive legume groups (peanuts, soybeans, and other legumes) and type 2 DM incidence. The multivariate-adjusted relative risk of type 2 DM for the upper quintile compared with the lower quintile was 0.62 (95% CI: 0.51, 0.74) for total legumes and 0.53 (95% CI: 0.45, 0.62) for soybeans. The association between soy products (other than soy milk) and soy protein consumption (protein derived from soy beans and their products) with type 2 DM was not significant. Consumption of legumes, soybeans in particular, was inversely associated with the risk type 2 DM.