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Fish and omega 3s: sometimes more is more

By now most of us are aware of the benefit of including omega-3 fatty acid-rich fish in our diets once or twice per week to help protect against cardiovascular and other disease. Now the findings of a study published in the January 17, 2006 issue of Circulation, the journal of the American Heart Association, show that consuming more fish and, consequently, more omega-3s, leads to an even greater reduction in the risk of coronary heart disease.

Researchers in Japan followed 41,578 men and women aged 40 to 59 who did not have cardiovascular disease or cancer upon enrollment, from 1990-1992 to 2001. Food frequency questionnaires completed at the beginning of the study and in 1995 provided information on weekly fish intake, which was analyzed for omega-3 content.

Over the follow-up period there were 196 nonfatal and 62 fatal coronary events. When individuals whose fish consumption was in the top one-fifth of participants at eight times per week were compared with those whose intake was in the lowest fifth at once per week, they were found to have a 37 percent lower risk of incident coronary heart disease and a 56 percent lower risk of heart attack. The risk reduction was mainly found for nonfatal coronary events.

When the effect of omega-3 fatty acid intake on cardiovascular risk was analyzed, coronary heart disease risk was lowered by 42 percent among those whose intake was the highest at 2.1 grams per day or more compared to those whose intake was the lowest at 300 milligrams per day. There was a 65 percent reduction in the risk of heart attack among those whose intake was in the top fifth compared to those whose intake was lowest. Nonfatal coronary events were similarly reduced.

In their discussion of the protective mechanism of omega-3 fatty acids in atherosclerosis, the authors explain that they reduce platelet aggregation, as well as decrease the production of leukotrienes which reduces the proliferation of endothelial cells.

โ€œHigh consumption of fish was associated with reduced risk of coronary heart disease, more specifically, myocardial infarction and nonfatal coronary heart disease, compared with a modest fish consumption,โ€ the authors conclude. โ€œOur results suggest that a high fish intake may add a further beneficial effect for the prevention of coronary heart disease among middle-aged persons.โ€