BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—Moderate consumption of fatty fish (one to two servings per week) and marine omega-3 fatty acids were associated with a lower rate of first heart failure hospitalization or death in a recent study of middle-aged and older women from the University of Alabama (Eur J Clin Nutr. 2010 Mar 24).
Researchers at the Birmingham School of Public Health examined the association of fatty fish and marine omega-3 with heart failure in a population of middle-aged and older women. Participants in the Swedish Mammography Cohort aged 48 to 83 years completed 96-item food-frequency questionnaires. Women without any history of heart failure, myocardial infarction or diabetes at baseline (n=36,234) were followed from Jan 1, 1998 until Dec. 31, 2006 for heart failure hospitalization or mortality through Swedish inpatient and cause-of-death registers. During the time period, 651 women experienced heart failure events.
Compared with women who did not eat fatty fish, rate ratios were 0.86 for less than one serving per week, 0.80 for one serving per week, 0.70 for one servings per week and 0.91 for three or more servings per week (P=0.049).
The researchers noted marine omega-3 fatty acids have shown beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk factors, and consumption of fatty fish and marine omega-3 has been associated with lower rates of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in previous studies.
