The Inverse Relation between Fish Consumption and 20-Year Mortality from Coronary Heart Disease

Abstract

The low death rate from coronary heart disease among the Greenland Eskimos has been ascribed to their high fish consumption. We therefore decided to investigate the relation between fish consumption and coronary heart disease in a group of men in the town of Zutphen, the Netherlands. Information about the fish consumption of 852 middle-aged men without coronary heart disease was collected in 1960 by a careful dietary history obtained from the participants and their wives. During 20 years of follow-up 78 men died from coronary heart disease. An inverse dose-response relation was observed between fish consumption in 1960 and death from coronary heart disease during 20 years of follow-up. This relation persisted after multiple logistic-regression analyses. Mortality from coronary heart disease was more than 50 per cent lower among those who consumed at least 30 g of fish per day than among those who did not eat fish. We conclude that the consumption of as little as one or two fish dishes per week may be of preventive value in relation to coronary heart disease.

Oxidant and antioxidant status in vegetarians and fish eaters

“…Higher fruit and vegetable intake was associated with a lower risk of myocardial infarction and other cardiovascular diseases (4), cancers of the mouth, pharynx, larynx, stomach, colon, etc (5,6). Habitual consumption of fish on the other hand is also associated with reduced mortality from coronary heart diseases (7,8). The beneficial effects, namely, lowered plasma lipids, diminished thrombogenecity and decreased blood pressure have been attributed to the accumulation of n-3 fatty acids over time in the individuals consuming fish regularly.…”

Administration of low doses of fish oil derived N-3 fatty acids to elderly subjects

“…Epidemiological reports have suggested that ®sh consumption corresponding to the modest amounts of n-3 PUFA in this study, if consumed regularly over extended time periods, can protect against cardiovascular disease when compared with no ®sh intake at all (Kromhout et al, 1985;Shekelle et al, 1985;Nelson et al, 1991). Moreover, it has been reported that moderate intake of n-3 fatty acids remain in the blood lipids long after the cessation of treatment (Brown et al, 1991).…”

“…Epidemiological studies reported that populations with a high consumption of ®sh such as the Greenland Eskimos and the Japanese showed a low incidence of coronary heart disease, which was attributed to n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) derived from ®sh and specially to eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic (DHA) acids (Bang et al, 1971;Bang et al, 1976). Since this observation was made, a number of studies have con®rmed the bene®cial effect of n-3 PUFA in the prevention of cardiovascular disease (Kromhout et al, 1985;Leaf & Weber, 1988). These fatty acids appear to modulate eicosapentaenoic metabolism and lower serum triglycerides, and thus may have potential for the amelioration of atherogenesis and thrombosis (Kinsella et al, 1990;Simopoulos, 1991).…”

A transferable programme of nutritional counselling for rehabilitation following myocardial infarction: a randomised controlled study

“…There is clinical trial evidence for each of these measures individually being effective in secondary prevention. This research is of variable quality, but for all these measures there is supportive observational evidence (Kromhout et al, 1985;Williamson, 1997;Law & Morris, 1998;Hooper et al, 2001) and also experimental evidence to provide mechanistic and biological plausibility for modifying atheroma and thrombosis risk (Schmidt et al, 1990;Folsom et al, 1993;Zino et al, 1997;Miller et al, 1998;. No previous study has tested all these modalities collectively as a therapeutic package within cardiac rehabilitation.…”