Premium
Association of fish and long‐chain omega‐3 fatty acids intakes with total and cause‐specific mortality: prospective analysis of 421 309 individuals
Author(s) -
Zhang Y.,
Zhuang P.,
He W.,
Chen J. N.,
Wang W. Q.,
Freedman N. D.,
Abnet C. C.,
Wang J. B.,
Jiao J. J.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of internal medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.625
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1365-2796
pISSN - 0954-6820
DOI - 10.1111/joim.12786
Subject(s) - medicine , polyunsaturated fatty acid , lower risk , confidence interval , prospective cohort study , mortality rate , disease , physiology , fatty acid , biology , biochemistry
Background Prevailing dietary guidelines recommend regular fish consumption. However, the associations of fish and long‐chain omega‐3 polyunsaturated fatty acids ( LC n‐3 PUFA s) intakes with mortality remain unclear. Objectives To examine the associations of fish and LC n‐3 PUFA s intakes with total and cause‐specific mortality. Methods A total of 240 729 men and 180 580 women from NIH ‐ AARP Diet and Health Study were prospectively followed‐up for 16 years. Dietary intakes were assessed using a validated NIH Diet History Questionnaire. Results A total of 54 230 men and 30 882 women died during 6.07 million person‐years of follow‐up. Higher fish and LC n‐3 PUFA s intakes were significantly associated with lower total mortality ( P < 0.0001). Comparing the highest with lowest quintiles of fish intake, men had 9% (95% confidence interval, 6–11%) lower total mortality, 10% (6–15%) lower cardiovascular disease ( CVD ) mortality, 6% (1–10%) lower cancer mortality, 20% (11–28%) lower respiratory disease mortality and 37% (17–53%) lower chronic liver disease mortality, while women had 8% (5–12%) lower total mortality, 10% (3–17%) lower CVD mortality and 38% (20–52%) lower Alzheimer's disease mortality. Fried fish consumption was not related to mortality in men whereas positively associated with mortality from all causes ( P = 0.011), CVD and respiratory disease in women. LC n‐3 PUFA s intake was associated with 15% and 18% lower CVD mortality in men and women across extreme quintiles, respectively. Conclusion Consumption of fish and LC n‐3 PUFA s was robustly associated with lower mortality from major causes. Our findings support current guidelines for fish consumption while advice on non‐frying preparation methods is needed.