Positive Health Online

Abstract

JARVINEN and colleagues, Department of Clinical Nutrition, University of Kuopio, PL 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland, have published another study on n-3 fatty acids from fish and the risk of death from coronary heart disease.

Background

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between the consumption of fish and the risk of coronary heart mortality.

Methodology

2775 men and 2445 women aged from 30 to 79 years who were free of coronary heart disease participated in a health examination survey from 1967 to 1972. In total, 335 men and 163 women died of coronary heart disease during a follow-up until the end of 1992. A dietary history interview method provided data on habitual consumption of fish and other foods over the preceding year at baseline. The intakes of long-chain n-3 fatty acids were calculated on the basis of food composition values of Finnish foods.

Results

Higher consumption of fish was associated with a decreased risk of coronary heart disease among women, whereas no significant association was seen among men. The relative risk between the highest and the lowest quintile for fish consumption was 1.00 (p for trend = 0.83) for men and 0.59 (p for trend = 0.02) for women; however, after adjustment for dietary confounders this association was no longer significant. The intake of n-3 fatty acids was not significantly associated with the risk of coronary heart disease in either men or women.

Conclusion

The results for women are in line with the suggested protective effect of fish consumption against coronary heart disease but a similar association was not found in men.

References

Jarvinen R, Knekt P, Rissanen H, Reunanen A. Intake of fish and long-chain n-3 fatty acids and the risk of coronary heart mortality in men and women.  British Journal of Nutrition 95 (4): 824-829, Apr 2006.