Association between Urinary Phytoestrogens and C-reactive Protein in the Continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Objective: A reduced risk of some cancers and cardiovascular disease associated with phytoestrogen intake may be mediated through its effect on serum C-reactive protein (CRP; an inflammation biomarker). Therefore, this study examined the associations between urinary phytoestrogens and serum CRP.Methods: Urinary phytoestrogen and serum CRP data obtained from 6009 participants aged 40years in the continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey during 1999-2010 were analyzed.Results: After adjustment for confounders, urinary concentrations of total and all individual phytoestrogens were inversely associated with serum concentrations of CRP (all p < 0.004). The largest reductions in serum CRP (mg/L) per interquartile range increase in urinary phytoestrogens (ng/mL) were observed for total phytoestrogens ( = -0.18; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.22, -0.15), total lignan ( = -0.15; 95% CI, -0.18, -0.12), and enterolactone ( = -0.15; 95% CI, -0.19, -0.12). A decreased risk of having high CRP concentrations (3.0mg/L) for quartile 4vs quartile 1 was also found for total phytoestrogens (OR = 0.63; 95% CI, 0.53, 0.73), total lignan (OR = 0.64; 95% CI, 0.54, 0.75), and enterolactone (OR = 0.59; 95% CI, 0.51, 0.69).Conclusion: Urinary total and individual phytoestrogens were significantly inversely associated with serum CRP in a nationally representative sample of the U.S. population.