ReviewAdvances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.)2026
Longitudinal Evaluation from Birth to Adolescence of Soy Protein-Based Infant Formula Compared with Cow Milk-Based Formula and Breastfeeding: A Comprehensive Summary of Findings.
Review in Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Letter to the Editor: Reconsidering the Leap from Descriptive Association to Causal Safety in the Beginnings Study.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Breastfeeding is widely recognized as the gold standard food for infants. However, many families use infant formulas, including soy-based products, which have not been studied for their long-term safety and developmental effects. The Beginnings Study and the Beginnings Follow-Up Study represent one of the most comprehensive prospective cohorts designed to examine how early infant feeding is related to growth, body composition, cardiovascular, microbiome, and skeletal outcomes, neurodevelopment, and reproductive maturation through adolescence. Conducted in Arkansas, United States, the study enrolled 600 healthy, term infants fed soy-based infant formula, cow milk-based infant formula, or human milk during infancy (200 per group). Of these, 385 participants (73.2%) completed the 6-year visit, and 190 (31.7% of enrolled and 49.4% of 6-year visit completers) participated in the 14-year Follow-Up Study. Breastfeeding was associated with slower weight gain velocity during infancy, and consistent lower BMI, fat mass index, and waist circumference extending into adolescence, than formula feeding. Formula-fed infants had comparable results with breastfed infants for skeletal mineralization, most neurocognitive parameters, and reproductive organ development. However, cardiovascular autonomic measures, including heart rate and vagal tone, differed by feeding group, with some sex-specific effects. Novel contributions included analyses of the gut microbiome and metabolomics profiles in early life, which revealed distinct dietary signatures, as well as neurodevelopmental assessments using electroencephalography, which highlighted transient differences in language-related brain responses among feeding groups. Together, these results demonstrate more similarities than differences between soy-based infant formula and cow milk-based infant formula in health outcomes and support the lasting benefits of breastfeeding. This evidence can help guide health care professionals in infant feeding recommendations and highlight critical windows to prevent obesity and promote lifelong health.
Indexed as
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
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 Socratic graph.