Fish consumption and risk of stroke, coronary heart disease, and cardiovascular mortality in a Dutch population with low fish intake

• Published in: European journal of clinical nutrition Vol. 72; no. 7; pp. 942 - 950
• Main Authors: Hengeveld, L. M., Praagman, J., Beulens, J. W. J., Brouwer, I. A., van der Schouw, Y. T., Sluijs, I.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 01.07.2018; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 692/499; 692/699/75; Adult; Aged; Animals; Cardiovascular disease; Cardiovascular diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases - mortality; Clinical Nutrition; Cohort Studies; Consumption; Coronary artery disease; Coronary Disease - prevention & control; Diet; Diet Surveys; Epidemiology; Feeding Behavior; Female; Fish; Fish populations; Fishes; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Heart diseases; Humans; Incidence; Intakes; Internal Medicine; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Metabolic Diseases; Middle Aged; Mortality; Netherlands - epidemiology; Proportional Hazards Models; Public Health; Risk Factors; Seafood; Stroke; Stroke - prevention & control; Young Adult; Netherlands
• ISSN: 0954-3007; 1476-5640
• DOI: 10.1038/s41430-018-0190-2

Background/objectives Fish consumption of at least 1 portion/week is related to lower cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. It is uncertain whether a less frequent intake is also beneficial and whether the type of fish matters. We investigated associations of very low intakes of total, fatty, and lean fish, compared with no fish intake, with 18-year incidences of stroke, coronary heart disease (CHD), and CVD mortality. Methods Data were used from 34,033 participants, aged 20–70 years, of the EPIC-Netherlands cohort. Baseline (1993–1997) fish consumption was estimated using a food frequency questionnaire. We compared any fish consumption, <1 portion/week (<100 g) and ≥1 portion/week to non-fish consumption. Results During 18 follow-up years, 753 stroke events, 2134 CHD events, and 540 CVD deaths occurred. Among the fish consumers (~92%) median intakes of total, lean, and fatty fish were 57.9, 32.9, and 10.7 g/week, respectively. Any fish consumption compared with non-consumption was not associated with incidences of stroke, CHD, MI, and CVD mortality. Furthermore, consumption of <1 portion/week of total, fatty, or lean fish was not associated with any CVD outcome, as compared with non-consumption. Consumption of ≥1 portion/week of lean fish (HR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.57–0.86) and of fatty fish (HR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.39–1.02) were associated with lower incidence of ischaemic stroke. Conclusions Baseline fish consumption of <1 portion/week, regardless of the type of fish, was unrelated to incidences of stroke, CHD, and CVD mortality in this Dutch cohort. Consumption of ≥1 portion/week of fatty or of lean fish reduced the incidence of ischaemic stroke.