Eating oily fish at least twice a week may help prevent major cardiovascular disease and death in individuals who are at high risk, including those who already have experienced heart disease or stroke, the authors of a new study say.
Their findings are based on an analysis of four studies including almost 192,000 participants across all five world continents. People at high risk who ate two weekly servings of fish (175 g) appeared to reduce their odds of suffering major events such as heart attack or stroke by a sixth. Omega-3 fatty acids are the ingredient most likely responsible for this protective effect, said co-author Andrew Mente, Ph.D., of McMaster University, an expert in cardiovascular epidemiology. Notably, no benefit was observed in study participants without heart disease or stroke, he reported.
“[I]ncreasing fish consumption and particularly oily fish in vascular patients may produce a modest cardiovascular benefit,” Mente concluded.
The health benefits of fish and fish oil consumption and fish oil have been much-studied with inconsistent results. A study from November found that taking an omega-3 fatty acids supplement did not reduce the risk of future cardiac events in elderly people who had survived a recent heart attack, for example.
The current study’s strengths include its worldwide focus, the researchers said. Previous studies have mainly followed participants in North America, Europe, China and Japan, with little information from other regions.
“This is by far the most diverse study of fish intake and health outcomes in the world and the only one with sufficient numbers with representation from high, middle and low income countries from all inhabited continents of the world,” co-lead Salim Yusuf, M.D., said.
The study, along with commentary by a nutrition science expert, was published Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine.
