Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39815171›Full record

Trial reportBMC geriatrics2025

Continuous high-soy protein soymilk intake affects ordinary walking speed in the Japanese pre-frail and frail elderly: a randomized controlled trial.

Nene Sato, Yuji Terashima, Makoto Sugawara, Ryoichi Unno, Hiroaki Asao, Mitsuhiro Iwasaki, Tomoyuki Watanabe, Tomoko Uno, Mitsuo Maruyama

Abstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in BMC geriatrics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Trial
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Nene SatoResearch and Development Division, MARUSAN-AI Co., Ltd., Okazaki, Aichi, 444-2193, Japan.
Yuji TerashimaResearch and Development Division, MARUSAN-AI Co., Ltd., Okazaki, Aichi, 444-2193, Japan.
Makoto SugawaraResearch and Development Division, MARUSAN-AI Co., Ltd., Okazaki, Aichi, 444-2193, Japan. makoto.sugawara@marusanai.co.jp.
Ryoichi UnnoResearch and Development Division, MARUSAN-AI Co., Ltd., Okazaki, Aichi, 444-2193, Japan.
Hiroaki AsaoResearch and Development Division, MARUSAN-AI Co., Ltd., Okazaki, Aichi, 444-2193, Japan.
Mitsuhiro IwasakiResearch and Development Division, MARUSAN-AI Co., Ltd., Okazaki, Aichi, 444-2193, Japan.
Tomoyuki WatanabeDepartment of Health and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aichi Gakuin University, Nisshin, Japan.
Tomoko UnoDepartment of Health and Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aichi Gakuin University, Nisshin, Japan.
Mitsuo MaruyamaGeroscience Research Center, Research Institute, National Center for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Obu, Aichi, 474-8511, Japan. michan@ncgg.go.jp.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTo investigate whether continuous intervention using soymilk containing high soy protein improves physical frailty, a randomized controlled trial was conducted among the Japanese pre-frail and frail elderly.

methodsJapanese pre-frail and frail elderly participants (n = 73) were randomly assigned to the high-soy protein and control groups, who then ingested soymilk containing 14.5 g/200 ml and 3.2 g/200 ml of soy protein, respectively. Before and after the 12-week intervention, walking speed, skeletal muscle mass, grip strength, and the revised Japanese CHS questionnaire regarding fatigue and physical activity were examined to evaluate the impact of each soymilk on physical frailty and compare the variation between the two groups. Physical activity (monitored using a pedometer), dietary intake (determined by questionnaire), and estimated protein intake (determined by casual urine testing) were also recorded before and after the intervention.

resultsFor the final analysis of the entire cohort (n = 70), there were no significant differences in the endpoints between the two groups. In the subgroup analysis, among participants with a walking speed of at least 1 m/s (n = 35, P = 0.012) and at least 5,000 steps/day before intervention (n = 27, P = 0.0083), the variation in walking speed after the 12-week intervention was significantly higher in the high-soy protein group than in the control group. Estimated protein intake was also significantly higher in the high-soy protein group than in the control group after the intervention. Regarding physical activity and dietary intake, no significant differences were observed between the groups before or after the intervention.

conclusionThe continuous 12-week intervention of high soy protein increased the walking speed among the Japanese pre-frail and frail elderly participants who had an ordinarily high walking speed and high step counts.

trial registrationUMIN Clinical Trials Registry, UMIN000044999. Registered July 29, 2021; https://center6.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000051409 .

Indexed as

Frail ElderlyFrailtySoybean ProteinsSoy MilkWalking SpeedAgedAged, 80 and overEast Asian PeopleFemaleHumansJapanMaleSoybean ProteinsFrailtyNutritional interventionSoymilkSoy proteinWalking speed

Identifiers

PMID39815171
PMCPMC11734348

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.