Objective: To determine the effects of soy milk consumption compared with cow's milk on inflammation, coagulation, and oxidative stress among patients with diabetic nephropathy.
Research design and methods: This randomized, crossover clinical trial was conducted on 25 type 2 diabetic patients with nephropathy. This study had two trial phases, each for 4 weeks and one washout period for 2 weeks. Patients were randomly assigned to consume a diet containing soy milk or a diet containing cow's milk.
Results: Soy milk consumption resulted in a significant reduction in d-dimer level (percent change: -3.77 vs. 16.13%; P < 0.05). This significant effect remained even after adjusting for confounding factor (carbohydrate intake). However, soy milk consumption had no significant effects on tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and malondialdehyde levels. The result was near to significance regarding the effect of soy milk consumption on hs-CRP (percent change: -35.45 vs. 36.76%; P = 0.05). However, this effect was not significant after adjusting for the confounding variable (carbohydrate intake).
Conclusions: Soy milk consumption could decrease serum d-dimer level among type 2 diabetic patients with nephropathy. However, markers of inflammation and oxidative stress did not change following soy milk intake among these patients.
Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01419912.