Key result
Moderate marine omega-3 intake is linked to ~33% lower incident heart failure risk.
Why the study?
Fatty fish and marine omega-3 fatty acids were associated with lower rates of heart failure among US elderly, but this has not been confirmed in broader age ranges or other populations.
Does consumption of fatty fish and marine omega-3 fatty acids reduce the incidence of heart failure in middle-aged and older men?
Cohort (n=39,367)
Does consumption of fatty fish and marine omega-3 fatty acids reduce the incidence of heart failure in middle-aged and older men?
Hazard Ratio: 0.88 (95% CI 0.68–1.13)
Captured external expert commentary on this paper, strongest first. Original sources are linked where available.
“The apparent U-shaped relationship of fatty fish and marine omega-3 fatty acids with heart failure was unexpected. The higher rate of heart failure in men who consumed the most fatty fish or marine omega-3 fatty acids compared with moderate consumption may be due to chance. Alternatively, these may be men in poor health who ate more fish to try to improve their ill-health, and therefore the fatty fish and fatty acids appear to be risk factors for heart failure. I suspect this is the most likely explanation, but we cannot be certain from our data.”
“Previous research has demonstrated that fatty fish and omega-3 fatty acids help to combat risk factors for a range of heart-related conditions, such as lowering triglycerides [fats in the blood] reducing blood pressure, heart rate and heart rate variability. Collectively, this may explain the association with the reduced risk of heart failure found in our study.”
Moderate intake of marine omega-3 fatty acids is associated with a lower incidence of heart failure in middle-aged and older men, though higher intake provides no additional benefit.
AIMS: Fatty fish and marine omega-3 fatty acids were associated with lower rates of heart failure (HF) among US elderly, but this has not been confirmed in broader age ranges or other populations where source and type of fish may differ. We therefore conducted a population-based, prospective study of 39 367 middle-aged and older Swedish men. METHODS AND RESULTS: Diet was measured using food-frequency questionnaires. Men were followed for HF through Swedish inpatient and cause-of-death registers from 1 January 1998 to 31 December 2004. We used proportional hazards models adjusted for age and other covariates to estimate hazard ratios (HR). Compared with no consumption, men who ate fatty fish once per week had an HR of 0.88 (95% CI 0.68-1.13). Hazard ratios for consumption two times per week and > or =3 times per week were 0.99 and 0.97, respectively. Hazard ratios across quintiles of marine omega-3 were 1, 0.94 (95% CI 0.74-1.20), 0.67 (95% CI 0.50-0.90), 0.89 (95% CI 0.68-1.16), 1.00 (95% CI 0.77-1.29). CONCLUSION: In this population, moderate intake of fatty fish and marine omega-3 fatty acids was associated with lower rates of HF, though the association for fish intake was not statistically significant; higher intake was not associated with additional benefit.
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Levitan et al. (2009) conducted a cohort in Heart failure (n=39,367). Fatty fish and marine omega-3 fatty acids vs. No consumption or lowest quintile was evaluated on Incidence of heart failure (HR 0.88, 95% CI 0.68-1.13). Moderate intake of marine omega-3 fatty acids was associated with a lower incidence of heart failure (HR 0.67; 95% CI 0.50-0.90 for the 3rd quintile), with no additional benefit at higher intakes.
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