Authors

1Fidel López Espuela,  2María Antonia Jiménez Gracia, 2Marcelina Rodríguez Ramos

Position

¹Licenciado en Psicología, Diplomado en Enfermería, Máster en Administración Sanitaria. Hospital San Pedro de Alcántara, Cáceres. ²Diplomada en Enfermería. Hospital San Pedro de Alcántara de Cáceres, España.

Contact address

Fidel López Espuela. C/ Miguel de Unamuno, 28 Bajo. 10004 Cáceres.

Contact email: fidelopez@hotmail.com

Abstract

Phytoestrogens are compounds that are structurally and functionally similar to estrogens. They are found in many plants, isoflavones and their derivatives being the most studied. The growing interest in these products has been a result of studies indicating that isoflavones are beneficial for symptoms of menopause, the cardiovascular system, osteoporosis and oestrogen-dependent cancers. Despite the large number of studies that shed light on the benefits of these compounds and recommend the rational use of these products as a first step in the therapeutic chain, there are still many questions and, especially, significant variability in results, highlighting the need for further well-designed studies with normalized preparations that demonstrate the role of isoflavones in the prevention and treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis. The aim of this work was to ascertain the status of the relationship between menopause, bone mass and phytoestrogens with the specific objective of determining if there is evidence indicating that phytoestrogens are a natural alternative to hormone therapy. A non-systematic bibliographic review of articles published in the last ten years was conducted in the primary databases (Medline, CINAHL, Cochrane), using “isoflavones”, “phytoestrogens” and “postmenopausal osteoporosis” as search terms. In view of the results, most authors concluded that, in several different situations, isoflavones can be a therapeutic alternative in menopause given that there are data on possible beneficial effects. However, their possible side effects are yet unknown and there is insufficient scientific evidence to recommend their generalized use.

Keywords:

Isoflavones; phytoestrogenspostmenopausal osteoporosis

Versión en Español

Título:

Los fitoestrógenos y su afectación sobre la masa ósea