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Soy
and Cow Milk Formulas Equally Safe
NEW
YORK (Reuters Health) - Infants fed soy-based formula have long-term
health outcomes similar to those who are fed cow milk-based formula,
according to the results of a study.
Critics suggest
that soy formula, because it contains a chemical similar to the
female hormone, estrogen, might disrupt normal hormone levels
and impair development.
But lead author
Dr. Brian L. Strom of the University of Pennsylvania School of
Medicine in Philadelphia said the study proves that these are
``unfounded accusations.''
``(In) a large,
long-term study, the products were remarkably safe,'' Strom told
Reuters Health.
The study,
which was funded in part by the International Formula Council,
a trade group that represents manufacturers of infant formula,
appears in the August 15th issue of The Journal of the American
Medical Association.
In the study,
the team of researchers conducted telephone interviews with 248
men and women aged 20 to 34 years who were fed soy-based formula
as infants. Each of the participants answered questions that attempted
to assess ``health in young adulthood, with an emphasis on reproductive
health.''
The group
that consumed soy formula was then compared with 563 similarly
aged men and women who consumed cow milk-based formula during
infancy and answered the same questions.
The only difference
between the groups was that women who had been fed soy-based formula
reported menstrual bleeding that lasted an average of one third
of a day per month longer compared with women in the cow milk-based
formula group.
But while
calling the findings ``reassuring,'' Dr. Frank R. Greer, a professor
of pediatric medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison,
who was not involved in the study, said they were not definitive.
For example,
the study relied on the memory of study participants, which may
bias their answers, Greer said. He suggested that a longer-term
study was also needed.
SOURCE:
The Journal of the American Medical Association 2001;286:807-814.
Reference
Source 89
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