Eating fish may help protect against arthritis, researchers report today.
A single helping of oily fish a week is linked to a 50% reduction in risk, Swedish researchers reveal.
And even lean fish, such as cod, can help reduce risk – but it takes four portions a week to achieve the same effect as salmon or sardines, the researchers say.
The benefits are gained by people who eat a steady diet of fish for at least a decade.
The findings, reported in the Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, come from a study of more than 32,000 Swedish women aged between 65 and 96.
The women had filled in questionnaires about their eating habits in the late 1980s and later in 1997.
Some 205 women developed rheumatoid arthritis.
The researchers say the protective effect of fish comes from long chain omega 3 polyunsaturated fatty acids that make up fish oil.
Researcher Professor Alicja Wolk, of the Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden, say the strength of the findings suggest that omega 3 could have a "potentially important" role in preventing the disease.
Long-term intake of dietary long-chain n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and risk of rheumatoid arthritis: a prospective cohort study of women Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 13 August 2013; doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2013-203338 [abstract]
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