Associations of menstrual pain with intakes of soy, fat and dietary fiber in Japanese women

Abstract

Objective: Intakes of soy, fat, and dietary fiber may be associated with the symptoms of dysmenorrhea through their biological effects on estrogens or prostaglandin production. The present study was to examine the relationships between intakes of soy, fat, and dietary fiber and the severity of menstrual pain. Design: Cross-sectional study. Setting: Three colleges and two nursing schools. Subjects: A total of 276 Japanese women aged 19-24 y. Methods: Intakes of nutrients and foods including soy products, isoflavones, fats and dietary fiber were estimated by a validated semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire. Severity of menstrual pain was assessed by the multidimensional scoring system reported by Andersch and Milson. Results: Intake of dietary fiber was significantly inversely correlated with the menstrual pain scale (r ¼ À0.12, P ¼ 0.04) after controlling for age, smoking status, age at menarche and total energy intake. Neither soy nor fat intake was significantly correlated with menstrual pain after controlling for the covariates. Conclusions: The cross-sectional difference in dietary fiber intake across the level of menstrual pain was small in magnitude but warrants further studies. Sponsorship: None.

Nutrition as a Potential Factor of Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies

“…Di Cintio et al [26] reported that women with dysmenorrhea consumed eggs more frequently than healthy controls, but Balbi et al [27] reported that women with dysmenorrhea consumed significantly less eggs compared to healthy controls. Other studies did not find significant results concerning the association between dysmenorrhea and the consumption of meat and its alternatives [16,26,27,39,52,55].…”

“…B) Fats: Fat consumption was reported by 2 studies. Nagata et al [39] found that only the intake of saturated fat had a positive association with lower menstrual pain. Also, Tavallaee et al [16] reported that women with a low fat diet significantly experienced less pain during menstrual periods.…”

“…Fiber Consumption: A study examined the association between fiber consumption and dysmenorrhea, and reported a negative and significant relationship between them [39].…”

Effects of Wheat Germ Extract on the Severity and Systemic Symptoms of Primary Dysmenorrhea: A Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial

“…Scores of one through three, four through seven, and eight through ten on the VAS indicated mild, moderate, and severe pain, respectively. A four-point verbal rating scale from zero to three was employed to assess the intensity of the associated systemic symptoms (fatigue, diarrhea, syncope, nausea and vomiting, lack of energy, headache, and mood swings); the validity and reliability of this scale was confirmed in various studies (37-41). After obtaining written informed consent, the table of random numbers was used to allocate the participants to any of the groups receiving wheat germ extract or placebo.…”

Association between Hardness (Difficulty of Chewing) of the Habitual Diet and Premenstrual Symptoms in Young Japanese Women

“…Current smoking (yes or no), age at menarche, whether currently experiencing menstrual flow, date of the start of the last (or current) menstrual flow, usual length of the menstrual cycle, and usual number of days of bleeding were also self-reported in the lifestyle questionnaire. For women who reported irregular menstrual cycles, we asked the range of the length of cycles and allotted the median as the cycle length 19. According to information on whether the subject was currently menstruating, the date of the start of the last menstruation, and the usual length of the menstrual cycle, as well as the date the lifestyle questionnaire was completed, the subjects were divided into three categories of menstrual cycle phase as at the time of the study (menstrual, premenstrual, or intermenstrual phases).…”