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Intake of Fish and n-3 Fatty Acids and Future Risk of Metabolic

Syndrome

Baik I et al. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010;110:1018-1026

Page 1 Baik I et al. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010;110:1018-1026

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Background

• Intake of fish and omega-3 fatty acids is associated with decreased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. In fact, high intake omega-3 fatty acids and low intake of trans-fat may be more important than PUFA/SFA intake in terms of CV mortality (Danaei et al 2009)

• High serum triglycerides and sub-clinic inflammation is hallmark of metabolic syndrome (MetS)

• Omega-3 fatty acids alleviate inflammation processes and decrease TG levels in vivo

• Omega-3 fatty acids may have an effect on insulin sensitivity• Effect of omega-3 fatty acids on incidence of metabolic

syndrome has not been substantially evaluated

www.pronutritionist.netBaik I et al. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010;110:1018-1026

Methods

• n=5 015, middle aged and older men and women

• Prospective cohort study (Republic of Korea)

• Length: 4 years

• None had MetS at baseline

• Primary outcome: Incident MetS

• Assessment of fish and omega-3 fat intake:

food frequency questionnaire

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Results (1/3)

• 3 504 completed the study (drop out rate 28 %)

• 9.5 % had fish less than once a week; 67.2 % had fish 1-4 times a week; 12.6 % had fish 5-6 times a week and 10.7 % had fish daily

• Odds ratio (OR) for incident MetS in multivariate adjustment in men (vs less than once a week) : 0.82, 0.66, 0.43, respectively for 1-4 times a week, 5-6 times a week and daily intake (p<0.01 for trend)

• Odds ratio (OR) for incident MetS in multivariate adjustment in women (vs less than once a week) : 1.13 , 0.91, 1.26 respectively for 1-4 times a week, 5-6 times a week and daily intake (p=0.94 for trend)

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Results (2/3)

• Regarding the estimated omega-3 fat intake the differences in incident MetS did not become statistically significant for either sex, even if there was the negative correlation trend among men

• In men, higher intake of fish was strongly correlated with higher HDL-cholesterol and lower triglycerides

• Men who had highest intake of fish also consumed more red meat and fat in total

• Dietary fiber and fat intakes were very low, less than 8 and 49 grams respectively, among all the groups

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Results (3/3)

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( p < 0.01 for trend)

www.pronutritionist.netBaik I et al. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010;110:1018-1026

Odds ratio for MetS among men (lowest vs highest category of fish intake)

57 % risk

reduction

Discussion

• High fish intake was associated with reduced incidence of metabolic syndrome. Similar results have been found by Ruidavets et al. 2007 and Panagiotakos et al 2007

• Diet followed by Koreans in the study differs substantially from Western diet, being low in fat and fiber

• I remains unclear why women did not seem to benefit from high fish intake. Authors propose that differences in the intake of fish among the women were too small to detect effects

• Of interest, in this study those who ate most fish, also had highest red meat intake. Intake of protein and carbohydrates was not reported in the study

7 www.pronutritionist.netBaik I et al. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010;110:1018-1026