Row over heart fish study
Wednesday September 30th, 2009
Experts
today dismissed the findings of research which questions the benefits
of fish-eating for the heart.
The Dutch research found no evidence that fish in the diet could help prevent heart failure, which is often the final stage of heart disease.
The study of elderly people could not find a statistically strong link between eating fish and avoiding heart failure - although there was some evidence.
One possible explanation is simply that not many Dutch people eat a lot of fish.
And British experts today warned that the findings do not challenge powerful evidence that eating oily fish can help prevent heart disease.
June Davison, a nurse working with the British Heart Foundation, said: "This study found that eating oily fish did not offer protection against heart failure - although for people with diabetes a possible protective effect was found. However we need further research to confirm this.
"We already know that eating oily fish such as salmon, mackerel or sardines can help prevent coronary heart disease."
She added: "To help protect your heart health you should eat one-two portions of oily fish, each week. If you have had a heart attack you should aim to increase this to two or three portions each week."
Heart failure affects about 30 million people in Europe and rates are increasing. Treatment options are often limited to palliative care unless a transplant is possible.
Dr Marianne Geleinjse of Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and colleagues are running the ongoing Rotterdam Study of health in elderly people. It began in 1990 and involved all men and women over the age of 55 living in a suburb of Rotterdam.
The team examined whether consumption of the long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fish can protect against heart failure, using health and dietary figures on 5,299 male and female participants. Over the next 11 years, 669 individuals developed heart failure.
Analysis showed that intake of fish at the start was not significantly related to heart failure. Risk of heart failure in the top fifth for the fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid was 11 per cent lower than in the bottom fifth, but this was not statistically significant, except for diabetic people. Daily weight of fish consumed was also insignificant.
Dr Geleijnse said: "Many health authorities recommend two weekly servings of fish - particularly fatty fish like salmon, mackerel and herring - for the prevention of cardiovascular disease.
"Based on our data we would not change this advice, even though fish intake was not associated with the development of heart failure in our cohort.
"Fish intake in the Netherlands is extremely low - on average less than one portion per week - so maybe higher intakes are needed for any protection against heart failure."
Geleinjse, M. et al. The European Journal of Heart Failure, October 2009.
Tags: Diet & Food | Europe | Heart Health | UK News
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