Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acid Intake and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease in Women

Abstract

Low rates of cardiovascular disease in populations with a high intake of fish, such as Alaskan Natives,^1,2 Greenland Eskimos,^3,4 and Japanese people residing in fishing villages,^5,6 have suggested that fish consumption may protect against atherosclerosis. Several^7-9 but not all prospective cohort studies^10,11 have found an inverse association between fish consumption and risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). In addition, 2 secondary-prevention trials^12,13 showed that increasing fish consumption or fish-oil supplementation reduced coronary mortality among patients with preexisting coronary disease. Virtually all previous studies on fish consumption and CHD were conducted in men; these results may not apply to women. We therefore examined the association between fish and long-chain omega-3 fatty acid intake and incidence of CHD among women in the Nurses' Health Study cohort during 16 years of follow-up.