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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – DALLAS, Nov. 30, 2011 — Young women may reduce their risk of developing cardiovascular disease simply by eating more fish
rich in omega-3 fatty acids, researchers reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.
In the first population-based study in women of childbearing age, those
who rarely or never ate fish had 50 percent more cardiovascular
problems over eight years than those who ate fish regularly. Compared
to women who ate fish high in omega-3 weekly, the risk was 90 percent
higher for those who rarely or never ate fish.
Researchers used a Danish nationwide population based pregnancy cohort
to examine whether or not eating more fish might reduce cardiovascular
disease risk in the young women.
About 49,000 women, 15-49 years old, median age of just under 30 years
in early pregnancy — were interviewed by telephone or answered food
frequency questionnaires about how much, what types and how often they
ate fish, as well as lifestyle and family history questions.
Researchers recorded 577 cardiovascular events during the eight-year
period, including five cardiovascular deaths in women without any prior
diagnosis of the disease. In all, 328 events were due to hypertensive
disease, 146 from cerebrovascular disease, and 103 from ischemic heart
disease.
Inpatient and outpatient admission for cardiovascular disease was much
more common among women who reported eating little or no fish. In three
different assessments over a 30-week period, women who never ate fish
had a three-fold higher disease risk compared to women who ate fish
every week.
“To our knowledge this is the first study of this size to focus
exclusively on women of childbearing age,” said Marin Strøm,
Ph.D., lead researcher and post doctoral fellow at the Centre for Fetal
Programming, at Statens Serum Institut in Copenhagen, Denmark. “The
biggest challenge in getting health messages like this across to
younger populations is that usually the benefits may not be evident for
30 or 40 years, but our study shows this is not the case. We saw a
strong association with cardiovascular disease in the women who were
still in their late 30’s.”
Fish oil contains long chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which
are believed to protect against heart and vascular disease. Few women
in the study took fish oil supplements, so these were excluded from the
analyses and the results were based on the dietary intake of omega-3
fatty acids, not intake from supplements.
Most previous studies that found cardiovascular benefits of omega-3
fatty acids have focused on men, according to Strøm.
“Men and women share many cardiovascular risk factors, but some studies
have shown that there might also be gender differences. For example,
inflammation, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels may have a more
negative influence among women,” Strom said.
Even women who ate fish only a couple of times a month benefitted.
“Women who eat fish should find the results encouraging, but it is
important to emphasize that to obtain the greatest benefit from fish
and fish oils, women should follow the dietary recommendations to eat
fish as a main meal at least twice a week,” she said.
The most common fish consumed by women in the study were cod, salmon,
herring, and mackerel.
“Our study shows that for younger women, eating fish is very important
for overall health, and even though we found cardio-protective effects
at relatively modest dietary levels, higher levels may yield additional
benefits,” Strøm said.
Co-authors are Thorhallur I. Halldorsson, Ph.D., Erik L. Mortensen,
M.Sc.,Christian Torp-Pedersen, M.D., D.M.Sc. and Sjurdur F. Olsen,
M.D., D.MSc.
Author disclosures are on the manuscript.
Statements and conclusions of study authors published in American Heart
Association scientific journals are solely those of the study authors
and do not necessarily reflect the association’s policy or position.
The association makes no representation or guarantee as to their
accuracy or reliability. The association receives funding primarily
from individuals; foundations and corporations (including
pharmaceutical, device manufacturers and other companies) also make
donations and fund specific association programs and events. The
association has strict policies to prevent these relationships from
influencing the science content. Revenues from pharmaceutical and
device corporations are available at www.heart.org/corporatefunding.
NR11 — 1181 (Hypertension/Strom)
Additional resources available on the right column of this link:
http://newsroom.heart.org/pr/aha/_prv-young-women-may-reduce-heart-dise
ase-219977.aspx
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