TABLE 2. Baseline characteristics of participants by equol producer status.
| All participants (N = 130)a |
Equol nonproducers (n = 76) |
Equol producers (n = 51) |
P b | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daily dosing frequency, n (%) |
||||
| Placebo | 38 (29.2) | 24 (31.6) | 14 (27.5) | 0.9672 |
| Once | 30 (23.1) | 16 (21.1) | 12 (23.5) | |
| Twice | 31 (23.9) | 18 (23.7) | 13 (25.5) | |
| Thrice | 31 (23.9) | 18 (23.7) | 12 (23.5) | |
| Total daily dose, n (%) |
||||
| Placebo | 38 (29.2) | 24 (31.6) | 14 (27.5) | 0.0910 |
| 33 mg/d | 14 (10.8) | 7 (9.2) | 6 (11.8) | |
| 66 mg/d | 14 (10.8) | 8 (10.5) | 4 (7.8) | |
| 100 mg/d | 8 (6.2) | 8 (10.5) | 0 (0.0) | |
| 200 mg/d | 56 (43.1) | 29 (38.2) | 27 (52.9) | |
| Age, mean (SD), y |
54.5 (4.7) | 55.1 (4.9) | 53.4 (4.2) | 0.0397 |
| Menopause status, n (%) |
||||
| Late perimenopausal |
31 (23.9) | 11 (14.5) | 20 (39.2) | 0.0062 |
|
Postmenopausal |
78 (60.0) | 52 (68.4) | 23 (45.1) | |
| Hysterectomy | 21 (16.2) | 13 (17.1) | 8 (15.7) | |
| Body mass index, mean (SD), kg/m2 |
27.9 (4.9) | 27.6 (4.9) | 28.4 (5.0) | 0.2082 |
| Current smoker, n (%) |
4 (3.9) | 1 (1.8) | 3 (6.7) | 0.3211 |
| Total kilocalories, mean (SD) |
1,947 (732) | 2,002 (739) | 1,874 (730) | 0.5095 |
| Any alcohol consumption, n (%) |
91 (70.0) | 54 (71.1) | 35 (68.6) | 0.8441 |
| Alcohol servings per day (drinkers only), mean (SD) |
0.8 (0.8) | 0.9 (0.8) | 0.8 (0.7) | 0.9100 |
| Any physical activity in the past 28 d, n (%) |
98 (83.1) | 60 (82.2) | 35 (83.3) | 1.0000 |
| MET hours (those with any physical activity only), mean (SD) |
2.7 (2.5) | 2.7 (2.7) | 2.7 (2.3) | 0.6438 |
| Race/ethnicity, n (%) |
||||
| Non-Hispanic white |
111 (91.7) | 64 (90.1) | 44 (93.6) | 0.9251 |
| African American |
5 (4.1) | 3 (4.2) | 2 (4.3) | |
| Hispanic | 3 (2.5) | 2 (2.8) | 1 (2.1) | |
| Native American |
2 (1.7) | 2 (2.8) | 0 (0.0) | |
| Perceived stress, mean (SD) |
21.3 (8.0) | 21.1 (7.8) | 21.5 (8.5) | 0.9433 |
| Soy servings per week, mean (SD) |
1.4 (2.6) | 1.0 (2.2) | 1.9 (3.0) | 0.1842 |
| Prescription hormone therapy use in the past year, n (%) |
14 (10.9) | 9 (11.8) | 5 (10.0) | 1.0000 |
| Natural (nonprescription) hormone use in the past year, n (%) |
29 (22.3) | 17 (21.5) | 12 (23.5) | 0.5287 |
| No | 95 (74.8) | 56 (74.7) | 37 (75.5) | |
| Yes, helped | 14 (11.0) | 7 (9.3) | 7 (14.3) | |
| Yes, did not help |
18 (14.2) | 12 (16.0) | 5 (10.2) | |
| Antidepressant medication for hot flashes, n (%) |
||||
| No | 111 (86.7) | 67 (88.2) | 42 (85.7) | 0.0410 |
| Yes, helped | 8 (6.3) | 2 (2.6) | 6 (12.2) | |
| Yes, did not help |
9 (7.0) | 7 (9.2) | 1 (2.0) | |
| Prescription medication for osteoporosis, n (%) |
14 (10.8) | 8 (10.5) | 5 (9.8) | 1.0000 |
| Prescription medication for high cholesterol, hypertension, and diabetes, n (%) |
50 (38.5) | 33 (43.4) | 17 (33.3) | 0.2724 |
| Greene Climacteric Scale |
||||
| Vasomotor score, mean (SD) |
4.3 (1.4) | 4.4 (1.4) | 4.0 (1.3) | 0.0715 |
| Total score, mean (SD) |
21.4 (11.8) | 22.2 (12.3) | 19.8 (11.2) | 0.3562 |
| Menopause- Related Quality of Life |
||||
| Vasomotor score, mean (SD) |
6.5 (1.2) | 6.5 (1.1) | 6.3 (1.3) | 0.3545 |
| Total score, mean (SD) |
5.3 (1.0) | 5.3 (0.9) | 5.2 (1.1) | 0.8489 |
| Hot Flash Related Daily Interference Scale, mean (SD) |
44.0 (20.2) | 44.9 (21.7) | 41.0 (16.8) | 0.5929 |
| Number of hot flashes per day, mean (SD) |
7.2 (3.7) | 6.1 (3.7) | 7.2 (3.3) | 0.3789 |
| Daytime hot flash intensity score, mean (SD) |
17.0 (10.3) | 16.5 (10.5) | 16.6 (8.9) | 0.5945 |
| Number of hot flashes per night, mean (SD) |
2.9 (1.9) | 2.7 (1.7) | 2.9 (1.8) | 0.3182 |
| Nighttime hot flash intensity score, mean (SD) |
7.5 (5.0) | 7.2 (4.9) | 7.5 (4.4) | 0.3896 |
| Bother from hot flashes, mean (SD) |
3.1 (0.5) | 3.1 (0.5) | 3.0 (0.4) | 0.1988 |
| Urinary daidzein, mean (SD), ng/mL |
1,630 (1,250) | 1,720 (1,238) | 1,590 (1,245) | 0.4006 |
| Urinary equol, mean (SD), ng/mL |
– c | – c | 2,220 (1,409) | <0.0001 |
MET, metabolic equivalent of task.
a
Equol producer status unknown for three participants.
b
Fisher’s exact test for categorical variables and Wilcoxon rank sum test for continuous variables.
c
Equol concentrations for nonproducers were below the level of quantitation.