Omega-3s, Fatty Fish Up Heart Health

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.Individuals who consume one to two servings of fatty fish and marine omega-3 fatty acids a week may reduce their risk for developing heart failure or acute coronary syndrome, according to a recent study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Researchers examined the association of fatty fish and marine omega-3 with heart failure (HF) in 36,234 women aged 48 to 83 years who participated in the Swedish Mammography Cohort study. Five categories of fish consumption were assessed from a food frequency questionnaire administered at baseline from which the intakes of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were estimated. Researchers focused their attention on the consumption of fatty fish like herring, mackerel, salmon, whitefish and char, which are more commonly consumed in Sweden compared with other regions and countries. Relative risks of heart failure hospitalization or morality were calculated using those who never consumed fatty fish or the first quintile of marine omega-3 fatty acid intakes as the reference.

During the follow-up period, there were 596 hospitalizations for heart failure and 55 deaths, equivalent to a rate of 20 cases per 10,000 person-years. There was a progressive decrease in the relative risk of heart failure or death with increasing fatty fish consumption up to two servings a week, which was associated with a statistically significant 30-percent risk reduction in analysis adjusted for multiple confounding variables.

As reported in the August 2010 PUFA Newsletter, when the relationship between heart failure or death was analyzed in terms of n-3 LC-PUFA consumption, there was a significant inverse trend with increasing n-3 LC-PUFA intake, accounting for a 25-percent reduction in risk in the highest intake group. The median intake of n-3 LC-PUFAs in this quintile was 570 mg/day. Notable among these results was the absence of any additional risk reduction with the consumption of fatty fish three or more times a week compared with twice a week. However, the lowest chance of heart failure or death (RR = 0.75, 95% CI, 0.58-0.96) was observed in those with the highest intake of n-3 LC-PUFAs.